


The Victor

by TheSpasticFantastic



Series: Bound [2]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Author Continues to Be Angst Trash, F/M, Runeard is a cockroach, Seriously Runeard is the Worst, Sexual Coercion, Sexual Content, dark au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:15:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24369475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpasticFantastic/pseuds/TheSpasticFantastic
Summary: Eight years after a failed assassination attempt, Runeard is set on marrying his remaining granddaughter, Anna, to Hans of the Southern Isles.Almost a decade after Iduna and Elsa fled, the Mist still stands and there has been no contact between Arendelle and the Northuldra.  Runeard is determined to marry Anna to Hans of the Southern Isles and finally secure the line of succession with a worthy heir.  As Elsa, Honeymaren, and Iduna try to figure out a way to bring the mist down, Anna, Kristoff and Agnarr try to figure out a way to stop Anna’s marriage to Hans.
Relationships: Agnarr/Iduna (Disney), Anna & Kristoff (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Elsa & Honeymaren (Disney), Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney), Halima/Mattias (Disney)
Series: Bound [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1645012
Comments: 207
Kudos: 132





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Final part of the Bound series. If you been reading, you know the deal. "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention". 
> 
> If you are a new reader, I would recommend reading at least The Resilient or you'll be rather lost. However, TL;DR: Runeard annexes the Northuldra's land and forces Iduna to wed Agnarr (who has been away for a few years). She makes Agnarr aware of his father's treachery and they start working against him, falling in love along the way. Approximately thirteen years after restoring the Northuldra to their lands and distancing themselves from Runeard in part to hide Elsa's powers, the king brings them back to Arendelle to start Elsa's formal education as a future monarch. As he increases pressure on her, Elsa begins to lose control of her powers. Iduna, who has been poisoning Runeard slowly, attempts to end him once and for all, resulting in the discovery of her actions. Runeard confronts Iduna in front of her family, threatening to have her executed, and prompting Elsa to accidentally reveal her powers. Iduna and Elsa flee to the forest, but Anna and Agnarr are captured and returned to Arendelle. Runeard tries to bring a military force to the forest to retrieve Iduna, but the spirits bring the mist down. This story takes place approximately eight years after the mist separates the Northuldra from Arendelle.
> 
> Thank you a thousand times over to Fericita for beta reading this super cheerful story in these trying times. And for, you know, plotting this story for me :D

“Your Majesty.” Marte sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Are you certain that you want to arrange another marriage? I hardly need to remind you that your last effort to arrange an adventitious marriage didn’t end so well.”

Runeard glared at his Minister of Trade. “Remind me why I keep you around.”

“Because I’m the only one left who you know won’t lie to kiss your ass,” she replied dryly. “And there still isn’t a suitable replacement trained up to replace me. The estimated losses to our treasury on a bi-monthly basis should you choose to fire me would be-“

“It was a hypothetical question, Marte!” Runeard cut her off. “You know I value your counsel. But there is no reason not to proceed with Anna’s marriage to Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. They’ve met several times. They seem to like one another well enough. She met his family last year. I’m sure even you wouldn’t object to having preferential trade relations with them.”

Marte shrugged. “It’s a semi-lucrative prospect, but Anna is still young and – “

“No. That argument worked when she was turning sixteen and Agnarr was being especially difficult about it, but she’s only three weeks away from eighteen now. And I would rather take a less lucrative option with a boy who will bend to my will than some wealthy upstart with ambitions of ruling. Hans is a charming young man, treats her like the little flower she is, and doesn’t have a defiant bone in his body. He’s as easy-going as royalty comes. Besides – look at the lot of them in the Southern Isles. They make boys. I’ll have a grandson in no time.”

“Her father-“

“Agnarr will do as he’s told. Or this time I’ll ship him to Russia and won’t summon him home. Anna isn’t a little girl any longer. She doesn’t need her father.”

* * * * *

Elsa yawned and stretched her arms over her head. Honeymaren, never one to rise early, grumbled something sleepily and pulled the blankets over her head. Elsa smiled and slipped out of their bedroll, closing the door gently behind her as she stepped out into the sunlight. Her mother was already awake, cradling little Minni against her chest as she tried to start a fire.

“Mother.” Elsa shook her head. “I can have Bruni do that.” Immediately, the tiny salamander appeared. Elsa nodded at the small pile of kindling as her mother stepped back, jiggling the infant against her shoulder.

“Thank you. I thought Destin and Kaija could use some sleep and this wee one was crying all night. They looked so tired!” Her mother nodded towards her kota. “I’ve got Little Destin and Valde still resting in there.” Elsa laughed and stooped to retrieve a small pot as the purple flames licked towards the sky. She hung it over the fire to warm the porridge.

“But we’re still going, right?” Elsa asked uncertainly. Her mother smiled sadly and tapped the baby on the nose as it cooed.

“Yes, darling. Of course we are. But we can wait until midday to go and still be back well before evening.” She nodded. Good. Her mother had barely been able to leave her kota the previous year. Honeymaren always promised to go with Elsa if her mother was ever unable to make the trip to the southern border, but it wouldn’t be the same. They needed to mourn. To ask whatever gods or spirits were listening to protect and keep her father and sister from harm.

Today was the eighth anniversary of her Grandpa’s murder at the hands of her Grandfather.

* * * * *

Agnarr sat quietly in the chapel.

He shut his eyes and sighed. This was the best he could do to remember them.

Mattias sat next to him in heavy silence. For all of Agnarr’s pain, at least he was certain that Iduna and Elsa were with the Northuldra. There had been scattered reports and rumors that Destin Jr. and several other cadets who had been gathered up by a cavalry captain had last been seen heading for the northern forest, and no bodies had ever been found, but he couldn’t imagine his friend’s pain at not knowing where his son had gone.

Sergeant Kornhonen cleared his throat from the back of the annex. He heard Mattias grunt. It had been one of Runeard’s enduring punishments that so long as Agnarr was in Arendelle, Kornhonen was to be his personal escort. A constant reminder of how little he was trusted by his father or anyone else in the castle. Agnarr opened his eyes and watched as the candles they had lit burned brightly in the gloom.

“Halima was wondering if you would like to join us for dinner tonight.” Mattias said, breaking the oppressive silence.

“He still didn’t invite you to the banquet?” Every year since the mist had come down, Runeard held a banquet in honor of his victory over the Chief Elder of the Northuldra and his treacherous daughter. Agnarr had never been invited either, although the king insisted that Anna attend each year.

“No. Cecilia is going this year at Anna’s personal request.”

“Good. I know it’s hard on her. It will be good for her to have a friend.” Agnarr clapped his hands against his thighs. “And I would be honored to join you for dinner.”

* * * * *

Iduna placed her hand against the mist and closed her eyes. She could still see her father fall. Still see Runeard’s hateful face twisted in its fury. Elsa’s shock. The mist falling before them, only yards away, shielding them from the outside world. Even after all the years, it was still crystal clear in her mind. So, too, was her last glimpse of Agnarr as he grabbed hold of Anna letting out a broken whimper as Iduna dragged Elsa away through a hidden panel in the wall. Even the sound had stayed with her.

Her hand grew cold against the firm pressure of the air. She opened her eyes and saw that Elsa had raised her hand as well. As always, the quality of the light fighting through the mist changed and the barrier seemed thinner for a split second as it glittered around her daughter’s hand. But try as she might, Elsa had never been able to force her hand through. And although Yelena had been asking her more often if there was any way she could take it down, if the spirits had told her of any way that they could leave or that Arendelle could enter, Elsa always denied that anything could be done.

It had upset Elsa enough that Iduna had a quiet conversation with the Chief Elder. And then a not-so-quiet conversation with the Chief Elder. And then had to be restrained by her mother to keep from coming to physical blows with the Chief Elder who insisted that the Fifth Spirit _must_ know more than she was telling. She and Yelena had made peace over a shared bottle of cloudberry wine.

“I miss them,” Elsa said.

Iduna felt a pang in her chest.

“So do I.”

“I wish we could see them again.” Elsa dropped her hand. “Do you think we ever will?”

“Only Ahtohallan knows, Elsa.”

“Mother,” Elsa sighed and gave her a weary smile. “I’ve asked. It doesn’t show me the future.”

Iduna squeezed her shoulder. “Then I suppose we’ll have to wait to find out.”

* * * * *

“Princess Anna!” The kitchen maids jumped to attention as Anna appeared. “We were – what are you doing down here, Your Highness?” Anna laughed and waved off their worried hovering. They weren’t used to seeing her outside of snack time.

“Just checking on preparations for tonight’s banquet! Don’t mind me.”

The taller one looked at the shorted one and shrugged. “As you please, Your Highness. Um, there are fresh sugar cookies that have just come out of the oven.”

“Oh, are there? Thank you, Singe. I’ll grab some on my way back up.” She clasped her hands together. “Has the ice been delivered yet? I was hoping to select a special block to have carved. One that’s especially clear.”

“No, Your Highness. Mr. Bjorgman usually makes his delivery at noon, so you’ve a few minutes.”

“I’ll just go and wait then, thank you!” She slipped past as they curtsied and found herself in the secluded passage that led from the delivery entry to the cold store room. Anna idly traced a finger along the cool stone of the wall. 

Another banquet, another show. At least Cecilia would be there this evening. If she was lucky, she could try to steal some private time with her father in the next week. So they could even acknowledge, if only to one another, that Elsa and her mother had ever existed as anything other than the monsters that Runeard made them out to be to the public. She shuddered and rubbed her arms against her side.

Suddenly, there was a large, warm pair of arms embracing her from behind. A solid form melded against her back as she smiled and Kristoff’s low voice in her ear.

“Are you cold?”

She grinned and squirmed from his grasp, turning to face him. It had been a week since she had seen him last. Unbearably long, but her Grandfather had been very insistent she take over the annual banquet as primary hostess.

“No,” she breathed, resting her cheek against his solid, reassuring form. “I just missed you.”

“I missed you too.” He cupped his hands gently against her face and kissed her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Fericita for helping me to beta read this chapter. It's greatly appreciated as always and I feel like I've foisted a novella on you this week.

Anna sat demurely as she watched Grandfather open yet another of his correspondences. He was speaking to her as he worked the sharp letter opener to break apart yet another wax seal before casually glancing at the missive and tossing it onto one of several piles. Although she smiled politely and nodded, she gave him little of her attention. She scanned the rise and fall of his voice for key phrases that would prompt a different response such as “Shall we send your father off to America this time?” or “Have you given any more thought to Hans’ proposal to come and stay for the summer?”. But Anna had learned years ago that if she wanted to maintain her sanity, or at least not be imprisoned for regicide, it was best she not listen too closely.

“You did very well at last week’s banquet, Anna,” he said as he brushed some flecks of red wax off his cuff. “Maintaining discipline within one’s realm is a large part of being a ruler, but maintaining diplomatic ties is just as important. And you managed to accomplish both. Several visiting delegates complimented me on your choice of menu, the décor, the dancing – you’re a natural hostess.”

“Thank you, Grandfather. I appreciate you trusting me enough to oversee such a big event.” 

“Of course, my dear.” He paused and frowned. She tensed. “And I want to acknowledge that your feat is made all the more impressive by the fact that you had to speak of your mother and sister during your speech.”

“They’re traitors.” She waved a dismissive hand and curled her lip. “It’s a pity we even have to mention them each year. But it’s important for the people of Arendelle to know what they did. To the kingdom. To my father. To me. To you!” He smiled, but hesitated with a letter in his hand. She continued. “Everyone knows how they tried to kill you, Grandfather. How they fled like cowards to escape your justice. And I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. And for my father, even if he’s still addled by my mother’s enchantments from time to time – to help us stand apart from the shadow of their treachery.”

Anna had cut a few of those lines from the second draft of her speech for being too over the top to be plausible in front of an audience, but subtly was lost on Runeard. She relaxed as he sliced open the next seal.

“Still. It was impressive and I offer you my most sincere congratulations. It just proves to the kingdom and to our allies what a remarkable young woman you’ve become. I look forward to toasting you at your upcoming eighteenth birthday ball.”

“Thank you, Grandfather.”

“Hans will be there, you know.”

“Will he? He had mentioned in one of his letters that he would like to attend.” She forced herself to blush the way her father had taught her. “I didn’t want to be too bold and forward by inviting him myself.”

“That’s a fine instinct, Anna.” Runeard nodded approvingly. “Especially for someone of your standing. But of course I invited him. He’ll be a fine match for you in due time.”

Anna’s eye twitched and she wanted to scream, but she maintained her beatific smile. “I’m sure in a few years, we’ll be very happily wed. If you think it’s the right match.”

“I think he’s a smart young man who knows how lucky he would be to marry you. And I saw how well you got on with his family. All those brothers and nieces and nephews. You’ll have little ones of your own in no time.” He wagged a finger at her. “And family, Anna, is where true happiness comes from. Knowing that you’re leaving a legacy behind. A firm foundation on which the future of our land rests.”

He sighed. “And Hans comes from an old royal line. A storied pedigree. It’s a shame that in these modern times people even care about such things, but they do. And while your mother was the equivalent of nobility among those savages, that doesn’t hold much weight on the continent. Your children will benefit from his blood.”

Again, the scream rose in her, but she suppressed it and spoke evenly, calmly. “I think he’ll make a wonderful consort and father. And we do get on very well.”

* * * * *

Agnarr sat in the library at a small table, reading a book and drinking a tiny glass of port. No one could fault him for being there. Sergeant Kornhonen, his usual escort, had taken two days of family leave to welcome a visiting brother. Since Agnarr was not scheduled to leave the castle, no one had bothered to assign another guard to follow him. He had been so well behaved the last several years that Runeard had grown a bit lax. Every few weeks or so, he found himself with a few hours where he was completely alone.

He heard the door open and close. A lock snapped into place. He smiled faintly, but kept his book open until Anna came into sight. She grinned at the sight of him as he rose to pull her into a fierce hug.

“How have you been, Anna?” 

“Good, Father.” She squeezed him back. He released her and motioned to an empty chair. “I almost didn’t get your message in time.” She nodded at the atlas where they left their clandestine notes.

“Yes, I’m sorry. Kornhonen didn’t know his leave was approved until two days ago. It’s good to see you. Has your grandfather been treating you well?”

“Yes, he’s very excited that Hans is coming to visit again. One of the guests of honor at my birthday ball.” Agnarr rolled his eyes. That boy was pompous, overly polished and entirely untrustworthy. It galled him that even Marte had been taken in by the man’s charming act. Anna laughed. “I know, I know how you feel about him.” The light in her eyes dimmed and she bit her lip. 

“He was also very happy with my speech at the banquet.” Agnarr reached out and took one of her hands in his own. “I know why it’s important for me to get up in front of everyone and say what I do, but I feel so . . .I hate it. I feel like I’m betraying Elsa. Betraying Mother.”

“You’re not. Your mother and sister both love you so much. They would never want you to do anything that would put you in harm’s way. Keeping in your grandfather’s good graces is the smartest thing you can do.”

“I know.” Agnarr felt a pang as Anna slumped in her seat, looking weary and wracked with guilt.

“Anna, when I had to publicly denounce your mother and your sister it was one of the hardest things I have ever done.” He sighed heavily and bowed his head. “Even knowing that it’s what your mother would have demanded I do to keep you safe – it took me a long time to forgive myself. I’m still not at peace with it. But saying those words, even if I had to swallow back my bile, that was the price I paid. My biggest regret is that burden has now fallen to you.”

“Do you really think the people of Arendelle believe they’re as evil as he says they are?”

“It’s hard to tell. Some probably do. People don’t always question things the way that they should. They fell for your grandfather’s lies about the Northuldra invading hardly twenty-years ago.” He scratched his chin. “I fell for them as well. Your mother was brave enough to let me see the truth about a number of things. But your mother was so kind to so many. She did so much good while I was being shipped off every year. I have to believe that a number of people don’t think it’s true, but are too afraid to say anything. It’s not wise to cross the king.”

“I’ve been having dreams about them again.”

Agnarr gave her a sad smile. “My darling girl, I never stopped having dreams about them. You’re having happy ones, I hope?”

A wistful grin spread across her face. “Mostly. Things from when we were young. Elsa letting us goad her into playing pranks on the adults in the Enchanted Forest. Mother singing while you’d play the violin at the Sommerhus. Skating with Cecilia and Destin on the fjord when it froze for the winter. It’s mostly memories. Or the way I want to remember things.” She rubbed her arms. 

“But sometimes, it’s hard to explain. When I dream the memories, I’m a part of the dream. I sometimes have other dreams where Elsa looks like I think she must look like by now. She’s taller. And she’s in Ahtohallan.”

“The river of memory?”

“Only it doesn’t look like a river.” Anna laughed. “There’s just this inky blackness and silver shimmering light. People rise up out of the snow and swirl around her.” 

Agnarr thought back to everything Iduna had told him about the legends and magic of the spirits. How her family had enjoyed an unusually close connection to them. Valde had hinted there might be more to it than merely Elsa’s powers, but didn’t want to burden her as a child with any more expectations and responsibilities that she already carried.

“How odd. She’s safe though?”

“I think so, I never see her face in full. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of it through the shadows, but she’s always moving.” Anna paused. “And I see Mother too. She has some wisps of gray in her hair, but not much. More, you know, lines around her eyes and mouth. And her hands are stiff in the cold.” Anna rubbed her own hands together as she stared vacantly at the bookshelves. “Sometimes . . .sometimes I see her holding a baby. Or I see Elsa holding a baby. The same one.” Her eyes locked with his. “Do you think it means anything?”

Agnarr tried to force a laugh. “I think I was the only one without any magic in this family, Anna. You, your mother and your sister – you could all have the spirits at your beck and call. Maybe not like Elsa did, but the Earth Giants loved you. The North Wind had such an affinity for your mother that it never stopped helping her cheat at tag. All it ever did for me was dump me into various trees and mud puddles which made your mother laugh.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what it means.”

They had to be alive. He believed that like he believed the sun would rise in the morning. If anything happened to either of them, he knew that he would feel it. As a father. As a husband. He felt their physical absence so keenly, it was impossible to think that if their souls left this world he wouldn’t feel it as painfully as though his own heart was being removed. 

Besides, Mr. Bjorgman’s unconventional adoptive family had confirmed that they were alive. If Anna’s pure affection for the young man hadn’t been enough to win over Agnarr, his halting way of asking _permission_ before he made inquiries through the trolls about Elsa and Iduna’s well-being would have won him Agnarr’s lifelong approval. Although they were unable to use their odd brand of magic to divine much beyond the mist, claiming that the powers of the spirits left them blind in many ways that humans could not understand, their means and powers allowed them to determine that his wife and daughter were alive and healthy. 

It was more than he had a right to ask for, but still left him longing to know more. Were they happy? Robbed of her crown, had Elsa stepped into a leadership role in her mother’s tribe? Had she found someone to share her life with? She was twenty-one. He knew married women younger than she who already had children. He might be a grandfather by now.

Had Iduna found another to comfort her? He doubted it and he was torn between not wanting to lose her a second time should the mist vanish and not wanting her to feel as desperately lonely as he did every day. The pain of missing her had not abated in the least. He would never wish that suffering on her even if it meant being replaced, but he couldn’t bring himself to sincerely hope she had found another. 

Mattias usually stopped him from pouring another drink when they got to this part of the conversation as they discussed being separated from their loved ones. Such thoughts did no one any good. Agnarr cleared his throat to clear his mind.

“Have you been able to steal any time with your good friend lately?” 

“I did!” Anna’s smile grew broad and bright. It warmed his heart to see an expression of genuine happiness on her face. She leaned forward conspiratorially. “Just before the banquet. There was talk of a birthday surprise.”

“Yes, it’s been in the works for some time.” 

They were both careful not to speak Kristoff’s name or even discuss a ‘him’. It was unlikely that Runeard had anyone listening to them, but given the disastrous consequences that would come from discovery, it was best to be discreet. They had even agreed to refer to him as “Cecilia’s Youngest Cousin” if they ever had to discuss him in public should the need arise.

“You know what it is?” She looked delighted. “Can you give me a hint?”

“That would ruin the surprise, Anna.”

“Oh, come on. Surprises are overrated!” She groaned. “You know I can’t wait two weeks.”

He laughed. “I think you’ll enjoy it. Your friend put a lot of thought into it.”

She relaxed back into her chair with a smile and gazed out the window. “I’m sure I will enjoy it. It will be nice, you know? When things are . . .different.” When Runeard was dead. Though it pained him to think of Anna wishing death on anyone, to have that kind of hatred so concealed in an otherwise full and loving heart, the king’s death would mean her freedom. Agnarr drummed his fingers on the table and nodded.

“It will be.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As always, thank you so, so much to Fericita for beta-reading this. Unfortunately, I am not in a position at this time to commit to a schedule for updates, but I will try to do so as frequently as possible.

Elsa set out early that morning for Ahtohallan. She found it best if she departed before the others in the village rose for their morning chores. It led to fewer questions and fewer people to tell Yelana where she was heading. She had lied for a while and told anyone who asked that she was merely going for a ride on Nokk or out to scout the lichen meadows for any dangers, but Honeymaren and her grandmother had convinced her to stop.

“It’s been eight years. People are scared.” Her grandmother told her.

“Everyone feels better knowing that you’re looking for answers.” Honeymaren added.

She had asked her mother what she should do.

“Darling.” Her mother sighed. “You should do what you think is best.”

And so she compromised. She made sure that her people knew she visited the River of Memory at least twice a week. But she left early to avoid distracting questions or their heartbreaking expressions of hope. It was easier to concentrate, to see what the river had to share, when she arrived with a clear mind. Then she could contend with everyone’s disappointment in her and her sense of failure when she returned to tell them that, once again, the river yielded no answers about how to escape the Mist.

Nokk settled into an easy canter as they moved over the churning waves of the Dark Sea. When she had been a little girl, her father had told her stories of the cursed sea and how no trade ships could safely cross its stormy waters. Tales of ghost ships and lost loves and tragic endings that had left her and Anna wide-eyed and her mother slightly exasperated just before bedtime. He had only stopped when Anna woke crying, terrified that their Grandfather would send him on his next trip across the dangerous waters. He stuck to land-based horrors after that.

She smiled faintly at the memory. She wished she could tell him that he had been wrong. That the Dark Sea wasn’t always a death sentence for anyone who tried to cross. There were times of the year she had seen the waters utterly becalmed. And there were two routes she had identified which, if sailed in the late spring or early autumn, would carry a quick ship through safely.

Yelana had asked several times if she could accompany Elsa on one of her trips. Eventually, Elsa relented after the warnings she gave the elder were met with a shrug and a raised eyebrow. Yelana feared little and didn’t seem to be concerned with her own death, even if Elsa thought she should be. It had been three years prior, during the hottest part of the summer and Yelana had brought her thickest furs. She had managed to last the ride across the waters, clutching Elsa’s waist without complaining of the cold or the icy spray. But so bone-chilling was the air in the entrance way, that they had only made it several paces into the cave before Yelana had collapsed with a painful moan.

The Chief Elder had difficulty breathing for several weeks after that. It was one of the few times she had apologized to Elsa, admitting that she should have listened to Elsa’s warnings as the Fifth Spirit. Elsa still wasn’t certain what Yelana had been hoping to accomplish with her foolhardy demand – she was able to summon the memories she had witnessed and recreate them in ice and snow for the Northuldra whenever she wished. She finally decided that Yelana was simply so desperate to have the Mist lifted, that she was willing to risk her life to find out if what Elsa had told her was true. That asking Ahtohallan about the Mist was futile. That doing so yielded no answers nor hints. Only silence from the ice, a crushing sense of eternity in those quiet halls, and the depressing knowledge that even magic had its limits.

Loved ones long since gone, scenes that answered small mysteries, the antics of old men and women from when they had been small children – Elsa was only too happy to reveal what she could. It brought joy and peace to so many people. She only wished her mother could find some comfort in her ability to conjure her sister and father. But her mother never asked her to do so. She had done it unprompted, when she was younger, showed her proof that both were alive, healthy as Anna grew taller and her father grew older,

Then she had noticed that her mother would stop eating for a day or two following a glimpse of Anna or her father. She never said anything to Elsa, only praised her abilities and thanked her for sharing her gift, but Elsa knew. So she stopped and waited for her mother to ask. But her mother never asked to see them. Only what Elsa had seen of them. If they were whole and well.

She arrived at the glacial cave and dismounted Nokk, patting its neck before it vanished into the sea. Elsa ran her fingers idly over the smooth walls of the ice cave as she made her way into its depths, the shimmering colors of the light giving way to a deep blue as she descended. Over the years, she had improved the passage to the deepest reaches of the cave. Youthful hubris had inspired her to leave it rather impassable as a teenager, but one reindeer mating season where she and Honeymaren had gotten into a drinking contest with Ryder and Destin had led to some regrettable dares and betting and she had managed to snap her ankle. That had been enough to convince her to make several gentle sloping bridges and staircases. With handrails.

It had been rather frightening the first time she explored Ahtohallan, not entirely certain what to expect. The stories and legends of the Northuldra held hints, but were hardly exhaustive. Even the spirits were unable to communicate exactly what she would experience there. When the first spectral snow figure had appeared suddenly from the darkness, she had let out a short shriek and jumped back. Even now, sometimes they appeared unusually early and startled her, but for the most part were a delight to see.

She saw Colonel Mattias first today. He and Halima were walking arm in arm. Cecilia was trailing behind them. Elsa grinned. Little Destin and Valde knew what their grandparents in the south and their only aunt looked like. Minni was only a baby, but had seemed fascinated trying to grab her grandmother’s snowy bun the first time she had seen it. This would be a nice memory to share with them when she returned.

A few clusters of townsfolk from Arendelle wandered by her, going about their daily business and unconcerned. Several of the reindeer herders she knew played a game of catch as the herd grazed nearby. She saw Marte Gundersen sitting at a desk with books stacked high around her, mumbling to herself about impulsive, idiot kings who hadn’t learned their lesson the first time around. Elsa smiled and shook her head at that. She missed Marte. Her grandmother was performing a ritual in honor of her grandpa’s memory. Destin was squeezing Kaija into a tight hug.

And there was Anna. She looked as though she had been wandering through the market square. A tall man with a nose that rivaled their father’s passed her, hauling a block of ice on each of his broad shoulders, his thick leathers marking him as an ice harvester. He and Anna nodded politely to one another as they went about their business. Anna continued walking in the direction that Elsa assumed the castle would be, hands folded behind her back, but the young man glanced back at her. 

Elsa frowned and froze the scene. She wasn’t entirely certain how it worked. The spirits had never explained it. But she could exert some control over the flow of time and the figures that were animated within it. She could stop them. Reverse them. Speed their actions. She had the ice harvester take a few steps back and then he stepped forward again. There it was. She froze it for the brief instant it crossed his face. From polite disinterest in the young princess to a look of naked longing that vanished almost immediately.

She could have sworn she had seen him before. But then she turned to her sister who was still walking away. She wasn’t here to examine a young man’s fancy in her sister. She watched as Anna vanished into the ground. Elsa closed her eyes and willed all of the memories to fall away. There was the soft sound of snow falling off a roof as the figures collapsed.

“I want to see her, please.” Elsa pressed her hands against the ground and opened her eyes. Anna materialized. She was dressed in what Elsa could only assume was the latest fashion in Arendelle. The dress was large, with ruffled sleeves and Anna’s hands looked heavy with jeweled rings. Fascinated, Elsa sat back on her haunches. Anna looked older than ever before and remarkably regal. Every inch the future Queen of Arendelle. She held her back straight and poised, her hands clasped in front of her waist. She was speaking. Elsa waved a hand to hear her voice.

“. . .and it is an honor to be standing here tonight, before all of you.” Elsa smiled. Her little sister was giving an address. “I would like to thank my grandfather, King Runeard, for the opportunity to once again address my mother’s treachery and my sister’s unholy-“

“Ugh.” Elsa rolled her eyes and waved her hands. Anna dematerialized. Runeard must have had Anna give the speech again this year. 

The first time she had heard her father’s speech denouncing her and her mother just months after the Mist fell had been upsetting. She cried for hours before managing to calm herself enough to ride Nokk home and then collapsed into her mother’s arms. It had been a dagger to her heart to hear her own father, who had always been so patient and kind, use those words to describe her. A witch. An unholy abomination. A danger to Arendelle and to all good people. Her mother had held her and stroked her hair. When she had finally run out of tears, her mother had wiped her face, rubbed her back, and smiled sadly.

“Elsa, you father loves you and your sister more than anything. You’re here with me. You’re safe from Runeard. But your sister is still with him. She’s still in danger. And if I know your father, he will say and do whatever he needs to do to keep Anna safe. He has no idea you can hear those words and there is absolutely no chance that he believes them.”

It had helped. And her grandmother had told her the same thing.

“He also called Mother a traitor and . . .” Well. He had called her mother several other words that Elsa wasn’t about to repeat in front of her grandmother. Her grandmother just laughed.

“Your father was in love with her when he was your age. And he loved her so much that he risked his inheritance to protect her and try to make things right between us and Arendelle. Your father is a skilled orator, Elsa, he’s just saying what he needs to say to stay with Anna. I know it in my heart.”

It had been upsetting enough that she had waited several weeks before returning. But when she had, one of the first memories the river had shown her was her father. It had been an unusually long and complete memory. But it followed him as he left the square, returned to his chambers, and broke down into tears. If Elsa had held any lingering fear that he believed anything he had said, that he loved her any less, that had quashed it.

By the time she had heard such hateful words emerge from Anna’s mouth several years later, she had been startled, but thrilled that her sister was clearly deceiving their grandfather so completely. It meant that she was safe. As safe as they had any right to hope she would be. Although there was always the threat of a marriage to Hans of the Southern Isles looming. Elsa had summoned as many memories of the young man as she could manage. She was certain of one thing.

Whatever image he presented to Marte and Runeard was not a genuine reflection. In as much as she could tell, he was a petty, power-hungry narcissist and she didn’t believe for a minute that Anna would be happy if they were wed. She only hoped that Anna and her father were able to keep pushing any engagement announcement back as they had done before. Elsa sighed and scratched her head, considering her options for a long moment. She pressed her hands against the ice once more.

“Show me my father, please.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you Fericita for beta-reading this chapter and helping me ensure that Kristoff was in-character!

“I would like to thank you again for inviting me to Arendelle once more, Your Majesty.” Anna watched as Hans bowed his head. Around her, several of the staff bustled as a small lunch was served. It was only the three of them, but there was one empty setting. She wondered who was missing.

“Think nothing of it, my boy.” Runeard waved a hand. “Anna wanted you here.”

Hans’ gaze fell on her and Anna looked away demurely. Over his past several visits and letters, he had grown increasingly persistent in his declarations of affection. He had even mentioned directly to her how disappointed _his_ father was that there was no formal declaration of engagement. She found that playing the shy maiden was the best way to handle him. No one could fault virtue. She took a small sip of water, thinking about Kristoff pressing her against the door of the store room and how virtue was rather overrated. 

“And it is a true pleasure to see you, Princess Anna.”

“It’s wonderful to see you too, Prince Hans.” She smiled at Runeard. “Grandfather, thank you for extending the invitation. And for arranging this luncheon.”

“Of course, my dear,” he said warmly as he began cutting his lamb with mint jelly. “Your father will be joining us shortly as well.” Anna exchanged a brief, shocked glance with Hans as both of their masks slipped for an instant. Hans had been formally introduced to her father years before and had been permitted to pay his respect to him in court, but they had never dined with one another in such an intimate setting. As for her, Anna could count on both hands how many times Runeard had allowed them to dine privately since she had turned fourteen.

Hands recovered before she did. “Oh?” He managed to convey nothing more than polite interest. “I look forward to speaking with His Highness.”

Runeard snorted. “You might have some trouble there.” He gave Anna a meaningful look. Anna smiled at Hans and gave an apologetic shrug.

“My father so rarely has anything worth contributing to a conversation these days.”

“Ah.” Hans fiddled with his cutlery, but rallied. “Well, nonetheless I’m sure we’ll all manage a pleasant meal when the present company is so lovely.”

* * * * *

Her father hadn’t appeared until they had nearly finished their meal. He extended his apologies, explaining that the runner had only just found him and notified him of his invitation to lunch. Anna had to hand it to her grandfather. When it came to petty slights and trying to hide the family’s unconventional turmoil from Hans, Runeard was quite clever. Hans always seemed to walk away with the impression that her father was a rather incompetent dilettante who had been seduced and betrayed by an evil temptress and left a broken man as a result of it. Still, she supposed, better that he have that impression instead of the knowledge that once Runeard got on with it and died, Hans would never be coming back to Arendelle.

“It’s a shame that your father never wants to discuss his sailing days.” Hans said as they strolled over the castle bridge to market square. Several members of the Royal Guard trailed them at a discreet distance, acting as chaperones. “I understand that by the time he was my age, he had served with distinction in several naval engagements.”

“Oh?” Anna had grown weary of Hans’ gently probing questions about her father years ago. For all that he hated his own father, he never seemed as readily convinced as Runeard that she loathed her father and had long ago renounced all loyalty to him. Hans could, in fact, be rather annoyingly perceptive at times. “Honestly, I’ve never asked.”

“And I understand that he was quite well-travelled when he was younger. I’ve heard from several dignitaries visiting the Southern Isles that he was held in high esteem in many courts around Europe.”

“It’s true that he was often gone while I was growing up.” She shrugged. “I spent more time with my tutors than anyone else.” That lie had spared her many explanations. “My sister was often off with my mother. We know why now.” Anna sighed and hugged her arms against her side. She knew how to change the course of this conversation. “I was always a bit of an afterthought.”

“I know what it’s like to be ignored,” Hans said. Anna smiled at him. So predictable. He launched into a sad re-telling of some childhood insult his brothers had inflicted upon him. Although, to be fair, all but one of his brothers had seemed remarkably unpleasant and brutish when she had met them the previous year. Hans really had seemed to inherit the brains in that family. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to leave, but she would be damned if she was going to be his means to do it.

She let her mind wander as Hans continued to speak, eyeing the crowd of townspeople that milled around them as they went about their errands. She searched the stalls to see where the ice harvesters were hawking their goods today. It wasn’t uncommon for them to try to find a shaded area before pitching their tent. Anna spotted Sven, tethered to a thick pole and casually started in his direction as Hans moved to follow her, talking the entire time.

A breeze blew over the cool blocks of ice, covered in sawdust, and carried the refreshing hint of winter with it. She smiled and closed her eyes.

“If you think that’s nice, Your Highness, you should try this.” She opened her eyes and grinned as Kristoff bowed low, a shaved ice in wax paper held in one hand. There was so much drizzled syrup that it was the color of a baked bun. 

“Why, thank you-“

“Excuse me, but who do you think you are?” Hans demanded in a cold tone as he stepped forward and linked his arm through hers, jerking her close to him. Anna started, but he held her fast. Kristoff blinked and straightened up. “Addressing a member of the royal family so impudently?”

“Hans.” Anna placed her hand on his arm. “In Arendelle, we don’t do formal introductions with our subjects. It’s very common for Grandfather and I to be offered small gifts when we come to the market.” She smiled and bowed her heads towards Kristoff. “This gentleman here is one of our many ice harvesters. They’re some of the hardest working people you’ll ever meet and the backbone of our economy. Minister Gundersen is always saying how without them, we would be a poor kingdom with few winter prospects for trade and employment.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Kristoff said as he bowed his head once more.

“I see.” Hans relaxed his grip on Anna. “Well. My apologies, Princess Anna. Things are different where I come from.”

“I understand, Hans. But Grandfather thinks it’s best to accept the small tokens of respect that people have to offer us.” She disentangled her arm from Hans’ and reached out to take the shaved ice. She felt the pleasant familiar tingle run up her arm that always happened when their fingers brushed. Someday she would be able to take his hand openly in the market square. Someday. But not today. She took a small bite of the shaved ice. Kristoff knew how tiresome she found Hans. Hopefully they could have a laugh about this later and do more than just brush fingers.

“Thank you, sir, it’s delicious.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. And if your companion would like one?”

“No, thank you.”

Kristoff bowed his head once more before looking at her. “Good health to you and yours, Your Highness. Enjoy your day.”

“Thank you, enjoy yours as well.” She took Hans by the arm and led him away, eating the shaved ice as they walked along the wharf. The longshoremen and porters hustled around them, calling out orders and moving cargo around. The harbor was the beating heart of Arendelle. She loved it. A small boy carrying a bucket of coal wandered by and eyed her ice hungrily. It was a hot day. She smiled and offered it to him. He grinned, grabbed it and sat down on a crate to finish it. Anna laughed and wiped the coal smudge he left on her thumb away with her handkerchief. 

“Princess Anna, I know that this is your kingdom, but it’s a bit unwise to be so familiar with the commoners.” Hans finally said. She raised an eyebrow and he patted her hand. “Please don’t misunderstand. I don’t think there’s anything . . .untoward or unbecoming in speaking with a man you don’t know on the street, but the rest of Europe would consider it a bit odd. Even the way you walk around with only a small security detail. We just don’t do that in the Southern Isles. No one in my family would visit the loading docks unless it was an official event, like a ship launch or a recognition ceremony for our navy.”

“Oh? As I said, Grandfather feels it’s important to have the love of the people.”

“And he is correct,” Hans conceded. “But that doesn’t mean a princess such as yourself should have to stoop to pandering to riff-raff like that man. A king can come and go as he pleases, shaking hands and handing out trinkets, but an unmarried young woman?” Hans shook his head. “It just isn’t proper. And it could put ideas into a man like that’s head.”

Anna blushed. There was no doubt what ideas Hans was alluding to and she was quite certain that Kristoff had plenty of those where she was concerned. And she had just as many, if not more, about him. Hans noticed the flush of her cheeks and smiled apologetically.

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to shock you or to imply your subjects don’t hold you in the highest regard. But men are men. And tradesmen are . . .not the sort that someone of your stature should be consorting with. I only have your best interests at heart.”

“I know, Hans. And I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

* * * * *

Kristoff held her as she embraced him tightly, clutching at his arms as her tears soaked into his shirt. He rubbed her back until she was able to compose herself. It made sense, now, why he had insisted that she come to Hudson’s Hearth to receive her birthday gift. Colonel Mattias cleared his throat and held out a handkerchief. She smiled gratefully and took it to blow her nose. Halima smiled warmly at her as she sniffled and wiped her tears away.

“Thank you all so, so much.”

“See?” Mattias grinned and elbowed his wife. “I told you Agnarr wouldn’t tell her and ruin the surprise. Pay up.”

“Oh, hush you,” Halima said. “Happy birthday, Anna.” She pulled her into a hug. “I know your mother should be here instead, wishing you a happy birthday, but take this from me in the meantime.”

“Thank you, Halima.” Anna hugged her tightly as they rocked back and forth.

“We’ll let you two have some privacy now,” Cecilia said meaningfully as she began to steer her father towards the door. “I have to run, but I’ll see you tomorrow at the ball.”

“Thank you, Cecilia. Colonel Mattias.” Anna wiped her eyes again. Cecilia winked at her and shut the door. Kristoff gave her a soft smile and ran his large, warm hands up and down her arms. “This is amazing, Kristoff. Thank you so much for this.”

“Happy birthday, Anna,” he murmured before lowering his head to gently kiss her.

He had gone to several people who had been friends with her parents and were still loyal to assemble the treasure she now held. A handcrafted book of memories. He had gone to the Sommerhus and picked several flowers from the bushes and bulbs that she had planted years ago with Elsa and her mother. He had pressed them and plastered them to the cover. 

The first page was the personalized announcement her mother had given to her father to let him know that she was expecting. There were sketches of her mother and sister and a handful of watercolors that had been done over the years. Elsa’s birth announcement, a small article describing her mother’s latest philanthropic efforts in the Arendelle, an old art project with Elsa and Anna’s handprints inked against fading paper – all manner of small odds and ends that had been stored in drawers and chests and attics since the Mist had come down.

Anna hadn’t even known most of these still existed. But Kristoff had found them and, with some help, assembled them into something priceless. Before this, the only likeness she had of her mother and sister was the locket her father gave her that had contained portraits from when Elsa had been only two years old. Runeard had destroyed the rest of the portraits or hired painters to cover her mother and sister in those that could not be burned.

“This was so thoughtful of you, Kristoff,” she breathed after he broke the kiss. “I can’t wait to show Father.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” He asked. “I mean, I kind of figured you’d keep it hidden here or something.”

“No, I can put it in the hidden compartment with my locket and a few other things. I haven’t given Grandfather any reason not to trust me. He doesn’t have my room searched like he does Father’s.” She cradled the book against her chest. “I want it close to me.” Kristoff bit his lip, but remained silent. They sat next to one another on Cecilia’s bed. Anna leaned against him.

“I’m sorry about Hans.”

“That stuffed shirt?” Kristoff snorted and grinned. “He doesn’t bother me.” He put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. “I’m just sorry that you have to deal with him.”

“Hopefully not too much longer. Grandfather hasn’t said anything, but I assume he’ll head back to the Southern Isles after my birthday. Then I’ll have until at least mid-autumn before he might try to make a quick visit before winter. He tried that last year. Father said he was hoping to be trapped here by an early ice floe. But his family summoned him for a birth or something and he had to leave.”

“Is he still Runeard’s favorite?”

“Oh, by far.” Anna rolled her eyes. “Hans has him completely charmed. Grandfather really thinks he would be content just to be my consort.”

“And what do you think?”

She shrugged and kissed his cheek. “I don’t think it matters because I’m not going to be married to him. No one has been pushing an engagement, those things last years, and once Runeard dies, Hans will be lucky if my Father doesn’t have him banned from Arendelle. He doesn’t trust him. And neither do I. I think he’s putting on a show.”

“Like you are?” Kristoff teased and laughed as she swatted him. “Takes one to know one?” Anna grinned and shrugged again. “Well, if he bothers you too much, you can always tell me.”

“He doesn’t. Are you going to be at the ball on Saturday?”

“Only in the ice room. I think you’re going to love the centerpieces that Rawls and Defenbach are carving. Some of us will be helping move them around.”

“So, you can sneak away after you’re all finished and come up to visit? All the guards will be busy seeing the guests back to their quarters.” She added hopefully. He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Anna, it’s not really appropriate-“

“Aw, come on. When has that ever stopped you?” She pouted. “Come on, it’s my birthday. I’m the birthday girl!”

He kissed the top of her head. “No promises, but I’ll try, alright, birthday girl?”

* * * * *

Anna smiled at the crowd of guests as she fanned herself. The night was warm and the ice sculptures with their intricate decorations to showcase the skills of the carvers had long since wilted in the heat and lost their detail. It was as though the ballroom was now full of melting Greek statues. One or two guests had already passed out from the combination of the heat and the wine. It was unusually stifling, even for a summer evening.

Unfortunately, the dinner had been unbearably dull. Grandfather had, of course, insisted that she be seated next to him. But instead of allowing Cecilia to sit next to her so that she would have someone to talk to throughout the meal, he had switched her seat with Hans. Instead of telling jokes and laughing about previous parties, maybe indulging in just a little harmless gossip about the various dignitaries in attendance and what they were wearing, Anna found herself forced to entertain Hans.

It wasn’t that Hans was particularly difficult to entertain. She had become very deft at redirecting his questions and getting him to talk more about himself. He liked talking about himself. Most people did. He also liked to speak at great length about what he thought was best for Arendelle which, to her utter lack of surprise, almost mirrored her Grandfather’s opinions exactly when he was around. They had spent a good twenty minutes talking over her plate about how to improve trade relations with Aland.

It was a dull conversation and neither of them expected her to contribute much. It was becoming unbearably boring by the time the plates were cleared away. Anna felt her spirits lift at the thought of the dances beginning. She would have to dance at least once with Hans, but after that it would just be rude if she didn’t dance with some of the other men. And Grandfather wouldn’t want her to be a poor hostess.

She looked over as he coughed and rose to address the room. She glanced up, puzzled, but was distracted by Hans placing his hand atop hers and gently gripping her through his glove.

“You forget yourself, sir,” she chided him, trying to keep her tone light and playful. She tried to pull away, but he held her fast. She frowned. “Hans. Stop. We’re in public.”

“It’s alright,” he murmured, excitement shining in his eyes.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” Runeard’s voice boomed above her. “If I may have your attention.” The room fell silent. “First, thank you for coming to my granddaughter’s birthday gala.” There was polite applause punctuated by a few cheers. Anna smiled as she continued trying to pull her hand free, nodding politely to those who smiled at her. Runeard beamed down at her.

“It is all too rare that we are able to gather for such a happy celebration. To share our good fortune with one another. If you will charge your glasses, please, I would like to give a toast.” The staff had swiftly and silently placed champagne glasses at everyone’s seat. Anna had hardly noticed, she had been so distracted by Hans’ unusual conduct. As one, the crowd before her raised their glasses.

“To Anna, the Princess of Arendelle, on her eighteenth birthday!”

“To Anna!” The toast echoed off the walls. Anna blushed and looked up at her Grandfather once more.

“Thank you, Grandfather,” she said as she began to rise. But he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back into her seat.

“I’m not done,” he said softly. He turned back to the crowd and raised his glass again. “And to Anna and Prince Hans of the Southern Isles! Tonight, I have the honor of announcing their formal engagement!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s probably worth mentioning here that time in Arendelle’s storyline and the time in the Northuldra storyline are passing differently. A Northuldra chapter doesn’t immediately take place chronologically after an Arendelle chapter. Thank you so much Fericita for helping me wrangle the characters and for assassinating the anachronisms that make their way through.

Iduna was in the middle of preparing a stew for dinner when Elsa returned. She smiled fondly as her daughter patted Nokk’s neck and the water spirit trotted off towards the nearest creek. It was still early enough in the afternoon that most of the villagers were off elsewhere.

“How was your journey?” She asked as Elsa approached her.

“Yelana is going to be disappointed,” Elsa said as she sat down. “Still no answers.”

“Don’t let her bother you too much, dear.”

“I know.” She sighed and blew a few strands of hair out of her face. “It’s not even her. I just – I feel like I’m doing a puzzle. And all the pieces are there and I’m just not putting them together.”

“Oh?” Iduna raised an eyebrow. Elsa rarely spoke to her about Ahtohallan beyond reassurances that Agnarr and Anna were safe and healthy. She dropped the final pieces of game into the pot and placed the lid on it. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Elsa shrugged and chewed her lip. Iduna waited. She knew her daughter. She wouldn’t have raised the topic if she didn’t need to mull it out. She was very much like her father in that aspect. “I’ve been seeing . . .Anna. More often than usual. She seems fine!” Elsa added hastily as Iduna frowned. “There are just more and more memories of us playing together when we were younger. Doing different things together.”

Iduna smiled at that. “You two were always inseparable.”

Elsa grinned. “Yes. One of our ‘kitchen capers’ appeared.”

“The mystery of the missing chocolate?” She raised an eyebrow.

Elsa laughed. “Exactly.”

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Destin said as he strolled up, Minni tucked in the crook of his arm. She was sleeping soundly as her father rocked her. “How are you doing?”

“Good afternoon, Destin.” She rose to take Minni from him and motioned for him to sit. The baby let out a sleepy gurgle as Iduna settled her against her shoulder. “Are Little Destin and Valde with Kaija?”

“No, they’re playing with some of the older kids out in the meadow. Jago is watching them. Today is Kaija’s shift to dig.” Iduna nodded. Destin and Yelana’s latest plan to see if they could get past the Mist involved trying to tunnel under it. Thus far, their efforts had yielded several pits that were ten-feet deep and countless shattered wooden shovels. The barrier that split the sky seemed to extend straight down to the bedrock beneath them.

It had been such a relief when the Arendellian cadets had integrated so easily into the village. Yelana had been surprisingly helpful with that, openly praising their bravery in facing down the officer who would have killed Iduna if they hadn’t acted, and defending them against the handful of those who argued they shouldn’t be trusted. Perhaps it was a testament to the resiliency of youth, but within a few years all but two of the cadets had married among the Northuldra. And those two had apparently had a secret courtship in the south and wed one another in a Northuldra ceremony a year after the Mist descended.

Iduna had once thanked Yelana for taking Destin and the others under her wing. But she had merely shrugged and said, “We don’t know how long we’ll be trapped here. We need all the new blood we can get”. But despite those words, she treated them no differently than any of the others under her charge as the Chief Elder. And she could be downright cheerful while working with Destin who had proven to be very useful when it came to preparing for a possible future invasion. He had worked with the Northuldra warrior to learn their techniques and talk through how they could best be adapted to successfully thwart Arendellian tactics.

“I saw your mother, Destin, in the market square,” Elsa said. He grinned.

“Yeah? How’s she looking?”

“Like this.” Elsa waved a hand and Halima appeared. Destin and Iduna laughed as she strode past.

“Grandma!” Little Destin shouted as he came running up. Valde toddled behind his older brother, a stuffed reindeer clutched against his chest. 

“That’s right!” Destin caught him before he could throw himself at the snowy figure and hoisted him onto his shoulders. Valde caught up and tugged his father’s trousers.

“Mama?”

“Mama is off digging, little man.” 

The little boy pouted.

“Would you like a toy?” Elsa asked.

“I wanna toy!” Little Destin squirmed so that his father put him down. “I wanna killer bear!”

“Digger man!”

Iduna watched as Elsa created a fierce looking bear and a Northuldra man with a shovel and pickaxe. They laughed as the boys cheered and began to race around the campfire with their new creations. 

“Actually, Elsa, if you’ve got some free time I was hoping to talk to you about our latest plan to probe the Mist.” Destin spoke as he watched his sons play. “We were hoping the Earth Giants would be willing to help with this one. Not like last time where we asked the young one to punch through. Nobody wants a repeat of that.”

“Of course, I’d be happy to help. What were you thinking?”

“Yelana and I were discussing that since we can’t go through it and we can’t seem to get under it, maybe we can go over it? I know we tried the trees right up along the border, but if the Giants would be open to lifting us up on the mountaintops, and if you could help with the cold, that’s one of the last places we haven’t looked.”

“Looked for what, Papa?” Valde asked. Iduna drew the little boy against her side.

“If you two want to go discuss this somewhere else, I can keep an eye on these three until you or Kaija get back. There’ll be plenty of stew for dinner.”

“Are you sure?” Elsa frowned. 

“Yeah, I didn’t mean to impose.” 

“It’s fine. You two go.” Iduna nodded. It was best not to upset the children with too much talk of how they were trapped inside an enchanted forest by a magic that not even the Fifth Spirit could understand.

“We wanna stay with Auntie Iduna!” Little Destin shouted and threw his arms around her leg. Destin grinned and patted his head.

“Alright, alright, I know when I’m not wanted.” He winked at her. “Just don’t fill them up too much on honey candy.”

“No promises there.” She teased. “Your father used to say the same thing about cookies. And I always gave them to you.”

“You always did.” He laughed. She watched as he and Elsa walked off, discussing when the best time to approach the Earth Giants with their request might be. Iduna sighed before smiling brightly at the two little boys.

“Who wants to hear a story?”

* * * * *

“You’re back later than I expected,” Honeymaren said as Elsa entered their kota. She tossed her a piece of dried venison and offered her some tea.

“I know, I’m sorry. I returned this afternoon, but Destin wanted to talk about probing the sky to see if the Mist has created a dome.”

“He wants to probe the sky?” She cocked her head. Elsa shrugged.

“I think Yelana is getting a little desperate. The forest is cut off. She’s worried it’s going to die. She’s might be right. It does seem like fewer things grow here compared to when we were children. There aren’t as many small game animals as there once were. And, you know, the herd . . .” She trailed off with a sigh.

“The herd will be fine for at least another thirty years,” Honeymaren gently reassured her. She rubbed Elsa’s arm. “Yes, we’re going to have to be especially careful with the breeding and it’s going to take some luck. If we lose too many to illness or injury, we’d be in trouble. But for now the herd is healthy.”

“Still, it’s been eight years.” Elsa sighed. “I understand why she’s worried. And I know that Destin would give anything if he could introduce Kaija and the children to his parents and his sister.” She shook her head. “I just wish I could do more.”

“You’re doing everything you can. I know how much you miss your father and Anna. How are they?”

Elsa frowned. She hadn’t wanted to discuss this with her mother. “I’m worried. They’re fine as far as I can tell, for now, but you remember Hans?”

“That prince your Grandfather wanted you to marry?” Honeymaren laughed. “What about him? He foisted him onto Anna, right?”

“Yes, and now Anna is turning eighteen. I was worried that Grandfather would force her to wed at sixteen, like he talked about with me, but that didn’t happen.”

“You Southerners are strange with your wedding customs.” Honeymaren wrinkled her nose and shuddered. “I just don’t understand it. Who forces people into a marriage?”

“It’s a royal thing.” Elsa rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask me to defend it.”

“Maybe it’s best you’re stuck up here.” Honeymaren grinned and hugged her from behind. Elsa laughed and squeezed her hands. They sat quietly for a moment, enjoying one another’s warmth. Honeymaren rested her chin against Elsa’s shoulder. “So if they’re fine, why are you worried?”

“I saw Hans today.”

“You’ve seen him with Anna before.”

“He was alone. He was talking to someone. I don’t know who, definitely not Grandfather or Anna. Can I show you?”

“Of course.” Honeymaren shifted her weight as Elsa waved a hand and Hans’ voice filled the kota as his body slowly crystalized into existence.

“-doesn’t matter if those are the terms of the marriage. I’ll have her so weighed down producing heirs for Arendelle that it will be me making all of the decisions. She won’t be able to rule if she’s always in childbed. My father kept my mother distracted with a brood of children easily enough. That might be the only useful thing he ever taught me. Runeard hasn’t got much time left and he should be easy enough to handle if he has a sudden attack of health. And then I’ll be king – not just in reign, but in rule.”

There was a long moment of silence before Elsa snapped her fingers and the figure collapsed.

“Wow.” Honeymaren curled her lip. “Isn’t he a charmer? And he’s got Runeard fooled, does he?”

“That’s what it seems like. Although Anna and my father don’t like him. Father especially doesn’t trust him.”

“Perceptive man.”

“He is.” Elsa smiled proudly. She was glad Anna had him with her. “He’s probably the only reason that Anna isn’t married yet.”

“So if he’s there, why are you worried?”

“I just don’t have a good feeling about what Ahtohallan is showing me.” She picked at a cuticle. “I’ve never seen Hans like this before. This memory must have come from somewhere farther away than Arendelle. Why now? And I also saw a memory of Marte – did you ever meet the Minister of Trade? I used to have classes with her. She was at her desk, grumbling about Grandfather and arranged marriages. I feel like it’s a warning.”

“Your father couldn’t stop an engagement?”

“I don’t think he could.”

“And Anna isn’t in love with him.” Honeymaren shook her head. “I feel sorry for your sister. But I doubt she’ll go quietly to the altar.”

“From what I understand, my mother wouldn’t have gone quietly to the altar, but Grandfather was . . .persuasive.”

Honeymaren winced. “You think he’d hold your father over your sister?”

“Without hesitation. Absolutely. He threw my father into the dungeon at some point. I think it was just after we escaped? Maybe? It’s hard to tell. But there’s no doubt in my mind that Grandfather would threaten him if it meant keeping Anna in line if she tried to defy him.”

“Does she have anyone else down there?”

“Destin’s family. Cecilia, Colonel Mattias and Halima. Honestly, I almost wish she had a suitor.”

“Are you sure she doesn’t?”

“I don’t think she does, but I don’t know for certain.”

* * * * *

“How was Elsa’s journey today?” Seita asked as Iduna settled into her bedroll. “I didn’t get to see her before she went home.”

“You know she never minds when you knock on her door, mother.”

“Oh, I would never want to bother a young couple. Honeymaren will be on a drive with Ryder for the next week. I figured I’d let them have time together. Anna and Agnarr are well?”

“Yes, they’re fine. So are Mattias and his wife.”

“Good.” Seita smiled. “He was a nice man. I’m glad that Elsa is able to check in on them.”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“You know what I mean, dear. Has Yelana been giving her some space? Let me know if I need to go have another talk with her. It’s better if I settle things before you both come to blows.”

“Yelana has been fine. Elsa is just . . .being hard on herself.”

“Oh? Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’m worried she’s putting too much pressure on herself. To bring the Mist down. She’s growing frustrated again, I can tell. Agnarr and Father were the same way. They would bottle it up.”

“I see.” Seita thought for a few moments. “Well, I’ll go and talk to her tomorrow. I’ll bring tea. Even in the summer, everything is better with a warm drink.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There’s some heavily implied Kristanna sexy-times at the end of this chapter so please keep the overall “M” rating in mind because there will be more M themes moving forward. Thank you Fericita for reminding me that there needed to be some solid Kristanna sexy-times and for writing a good 80% of that - your time and talent is always appreciated!

By the end of the ball, Anna felt as though her head was spinning. It wasn’t just from the two straight hours of dancing with various dignitaries who were literally tripping over themselves to congratulate her or the three extra glasses of champagne she had drained to cover her shock. Hans had been at her side as often as he could manage, though she had tried to distance herself from him. Fortunately, she was able to slip away and hurry after her Grandfather as he departed without Hans noticing. Runeard hadn’t stayed for the end of the dancing in years and Hans was still shaking hands and accepting the well wishes for a happy marriage from the various European representatives.

“Grandfather!” Anna hitched up her gown as she scurried down the hallway. He turned and smiled as she reached him.

“Anna, my dear.” He patted her cheek. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” she blurted. She felt dizzy and could feel the flush of her cheeks.

“I do hope you enjoyed my gift to you.”

“The engagement announcement?” She asked breathlessly. He smiled again and squeezed both of her hands.

“Yes, my dear. The engagement announcement. No point in making you and Prince Hans wait any longer. I thought it would be a lovely surprise.”

“It was a definitely a surprise, Grandfather.” He frowned and she quickly added, “A lovely one! Thank you. Thank you so, so much.”

“No need to thank me.” He offered her his arm and they continued on their way. “I was a young man once, you know. I remember how excited I was to marry your grandmother. I couldn’t wait. And don’t worry, I won’t make you wait either.”

“No?”

“No. Early September should be a fine time to plan for a wedding. I’ll let Hans know in the morning. We hadn’t discussed a date yet.”

“But that’s hardly two months from now.” She could feel the panic surging. 

“Yes, Hans will be able to stay here this summer. He might need to return briefly to settle some affairs in the Southern Isles, but that shouldn’t take more than a week or so. It will hardly seem as though he’s gone.”

Her mind raced as she cast about for an idea, any idea, that would serve to delay the wedding. “But, Grandfather, two months isn’t enough time for me to plan a proper wedding.”

“Oh, Anna, we have people who can help you with that. Never you worry.”

“I – I just always imagined myself getting married in the spring.” She could feel her control slipping away. Her eyes were stinging. “With a bouquet of –“

“Anna.” He laughed. “Girlhood dreams are all well and good, but you’re a young woman now. A future queen. It’s inane to postpone your wedding merely because you want a certain kind of flower in your bridal bouquet.”

“But you’ve always told me that my job is to represent our family.” Her voice cracked as the tears began to run down her cheeks. Runeard stopped and turned to her, stunned. Anna tried to wipe her tears away with her hand as he fumbled for a handkerchief and ushered her into an empty room, shutting the door behind them. “And I’m so, so sorry, Grandfather, but I don’t think I can plan a royal wedding befitting of Arendelle in just two months. Even with the staff’s help.”

“My dear, don’t cry it’s – “

“I’m sorry, I know I’m letting you down. I know I was able to plan the banquet well and I’ve been working so hard to be a good hostess. But I can’t manage a royal wedding. Not that quickly!” She took the handkerchief and wiped her face. “But if it was in the spring, Grandfather, I know that I could make you proud.”

Runeard sighed and drew her into a hug. He patted her back. “Anna. While I would love to give you a wedding that all of Europe would envy, I just don’t have that kind of time.” She stiffened. “I won’t be here forever. And part of my reasons for allowing you and Hans such a brief engagement are selfish.”

“What do you mean?”

“Anna, I’m not going to live forever. I want to see you wed and I would love to meet your son.” He drew back and smiled at her. “And once you and Hans are married, I can afford to disinherit your father.”

“Disinherit my father?” She blinked. Runeard had grumbled about that for years, but had never taken any steps to formally remove her Father from the line of succession.

“He’s a weak man, Anna. And after . . .well, when all of the unpleasantness occurred, I nearly had to commit him to an asylum. We’ve discussed this. I can’t trust him with my kingdom. But I can trust you and Hans. You’re the future. The both of you. Not Agnarr.”

“I see.” She bowed her head and wiped her face once more with the handkerchief. She bit the inside of her cheek, the sharp pain grounding her. Anna drew a shuddery breath. “I know how important it is to have him removed. Arendelle would suffer terribly if he were to become the king.”

“That’s my girl.”

She chose her next words carefully. “It’s just, sometimes people – other nations – might interpret this as a sign of weakness. Someone who seems like they would be the natural successor, someone who is older, someone who still has a reputation as a diplomat and statesman – being passed over, I mean.”

He snorted. “You know I don’t care what they think.”

“I know, Grandfather. And you shouldn’t! I know you have Arendelle’s best interests at heart. But you’ve always taught me that, as a kingdom, we need to be perceived as wealthy and strong. Arendelle hasn’t had a royal wedding in over twenty years. It would be the perfect opportunity to put Arendelle on display! And it would give Hans and I the best start if we’re going to be seen as anything more than two feckless youths who’ve been handed a kingdom.”

Runeard crossed his arms, looking thoughtful.

“I just think a large, well-planned wedding would give us more legitimacy,” she said desperately. “And anything else would be seen as proof that –“

“I understand what you’re saying, Anna.” Runeard waved a hand to silence her. Anna clenched her hands at her sides. “Marte said almost the exact same thing. But waiting another year isn’t an option.”

“Then what about after the New Year?”

“After the New Year?”

“Yes! Announce that the wedding is planned for the spring. That will give us plenty of time to get ready. But – but Hans will stay for the winter. You know what his family is like. They won’t care. And it wouldn’t be considered too improper if he were to stay for the winter. I don’t think it would, anyway. And – and then some kind of announcement can be made. An illness or something. Something that will give us an excuse to have a small ceremony. It will make a good story – one that people will believe. A new year, a new start. And we can still have the big wedding ceremony in the spring when all the dignitaries and diplomats can attend. Like it was always planned. But it will just be an excuse for a fancy reception. Hans and I will already be wed. You can disinherit my father. I can have the wedding I’d always hoped for and one that will make Arendelle look good. One that you can be proud of, Grandfather.”

“Anna-“

“Please.” Her voice broke. “I’ll do what you tell me, you know I will. But please think about it.” Her heart hammered in her chest as Runeard sighed again and rubbed his face. Finally, he broke the silence.

“I’ll speak with Marte. A six-month delay on your vows with a large spring reception might be a possibility.”

“Thank you, Grandfather.” She slumped in relief. 

“No promises, mind you.”

“I understand completely. I just appreciate you considering it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * * * *

Kristoff hadn’t thought much about it when Anna didn’t return to her room by the time he had to leave. It happened more often than not that when she planned to meet him after a ball or banquet, she got stuck having to stay later than she anticipated to entertain her Grandfather’s guests. He had learned the patterns of castle life, the guard patrols and when they changed shifts for the night, and the last thing he wanted was to be caught in the private hall of the royal family. It had already happened once and, thankfully, had led to nothing more than a very awkward evening with Anna’s father hiding him in his quarters until the gate was unlocked in the morning. But it was not something that Kristoff cared to repeat again. Ever.

So he had slipped away and headed back to the flophouse where he was sharing a room with several other ice harvesters. They had one last day in Arendelle to enjoy themselves and then they would push north to the mountains to see if the last few frozen lakes were still thick enough to harvest safely. Otherwise, it was time to find the odd jobs that would hold them through the summer. Kristoff had already spoken to Halima about helping to move the massive beer barrels between Hudson’s Hearth and the port twice a week.

He woke early the next morning, but with nothing left to sell and the stall broken down, Kristoff found himself wandering Market Square with his hands in his pockets. He hoped that Anna would make her way there today and that, if she did, he would be able to find her. He drifted down towards the docks to see if there was any chance of making a little extra money helping to haul cargo when he overheard two well-dressed women talking.

“-a bit unorthodox, but I suppose that King Runeard wanted to surprise her.”

“He does dote on that girl. It’s rather sweet given everything she’s been through.”

“Still, you’d expect her father to make that kind of announcement, no?”

“Well, Prince Agnarr hasn’t been well. Maybe he asked the king to make it?”

“Perhaps. But what kind of father wouldn’t tell his daughter she’s engaged face-to-face?”

Kristoff tripped and barely caught himself against several stacked molasses barrels, causing the two women to turn and stare at him before hurrying away. He felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. Engaged? He thought his knees would buckle for a moment before he steadied himself and began to walk briskly back towards the square. He could feel his blood pounding in his ears.

Anna had talked to him about this. That there might be an engagement. That she might not be able to stop it if Runeard decided it was time to announce a formal pledge. Kristoff wasn’t naïve. He understood that when it came to forging state relations, matters of the heart and the wishes of those involved in the marriage were often overlooked or outright ignored. But he had her father’s blessing and Anna’s love and that was what mattered in his mind. Anna had even reassured him that royal engagements often lasted one to two years as negotiations on the terms of the marriage were finalized.

But still.

The idea of Anna being engaged left him reeling.

Perhaps he misheard? Surely, Runeard would make a formal announcement if Anna were engaged. Suddenly, he saw Cecilia approaching him, a basket on her arm. He locked eyes with her, but she shook her head and looked past him. He was startled when she walked by and smacked him hard enough with the basket to send it crashing to the ground.

“Watch where you’re going!”

“I’m sorry, miss!” He took a knee to help her gather her scattered belongings.

“She’s in my room,” Cecilia whispered as they both grabbed at her things. “You don’t have much time before she’s missed at the castle.”

“Thank you.”

“You need to be more careful where you’re walking,” she growled before storming off into the crowd. Kristoff shook his head and made a rude hand gesture at her back. He was probably being paranoid, it was doubtful they were being watched, but it felt good to do something profane. He made his way to Hudson’s Hearth. Halima was at the bar with two of the regulars already occupying their stools. She glanced at him as he walked up.

“Oh, you here for the ice order?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m not sure how much we need this time. Just go on and check the store room and let me know what you think.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. The stairs to the storeroom and the bedrooms above were both on the other side of the wall.

“Might take me a few minutes to-“

“That’s fine.” She turned back to her customers. “So what else happened?”

Kristoff forced himself not to run up the stairs. He knocked softly on Cecilia’s door and it opened. He stepped inside and Anna nearly knocked him over as she threw herself into his arms.

“Kristoff!” She buried her face in his chest. “My Grandfather-“

“I heard.” He pulled her into a tight embrace. “You’re engaged.” He hugged her harder as she choked out a sob. “Hey, it’s alright. We’ll be fine. You warned me this might happen. But these things last years, right? We’ve got time to figure out what to do.”

“No,” she sniffled and pulled back from him, wiping her eyes. “No, we don’t have time. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but Grandfather wanted to plan the wedding for September.”

“This September?”

“I talked him back to a wedding ceremony just after New Year’s. With a big reception in the spring.”

“That’s. . . that’s only six months, Anna.” He took her hands.

“I know. I know it is. And we’re lucky to have that. I could hear him and father screaming at one another this morning.”

“Your father-“

“Is furious. But Grandfather won’t budge. He won’t. I know he won’t. He’s going to try and make me marry Hans and I don’t think hell die before he sees it done.” She was speaking so quickly he was having trouble keeping up. “But I can’t marry Hans, Kristoff! I can’t! I don’t want to be his wife and I don’t want to bear his children!”

“Anna, we’ll-“

“Kristoff. You have to marry me! I mean, obviously, you don’t _have_ to marry me. I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. But if you love me then you have to marry me because I can’t think of any other plan!”

He blinked a few times, gaping at her. “Anna. I – I can’t marry you like this. Not in a panic.”

“Well, if you want to marry me at all then it’s going to have to be in a panic. It’s going to have to be now.” She looked up at him with large eyes and he felt himself melt. “Do you want to marry me?”

“Anna.” He caressed her cheek. “Of course, I want to marry you.”

She gave him a watery smile. “Then we have to do it now. Otherwise, I’m jumping on the first ship out of Arendelle and I’m becoming a pirate. And you know how I feel about parrots and I’d rather keep all of my limbs and eyes. And I don’t like hooks. And I don’t know how to sail.”

“I don’t know,” he murmured as he drew her close and rested his chin atop her head. “The Pirate Princess kind of has a nice ring to it.” He heard her laugh and smiled. “Alright. I love you. Let’s get married.”

“I love you so much, Kristoff,” she whispered. He felt his smile slip away.

“But, Anna – once we’re married, then what?”

“Um.” He was surprised to see her turn bright red. “You need to get my pregnant. As soon as possible.” Kristoff felt his cheeks burn.

“I – what?”

“I’ve thought about this. Grandfather is going to be infuriated. I can’t let him know that we’ve been married. Colonel Mattias has an old Army friend – a chaplain – who supports my father for the throne. He’s going to see if he’ll marry us in secret.” She licked her lips. “But, Kristoff, Grandfather would make you disappear if he found out that we . . .were together. And Hans would be angry, but not so angry that he would call off the wedding if he found out I wasn’t a virgin. He wants to be king too much to let that ruin it. But if I’m pregnant – and especially if I’m showing before mid-winter – that’s not something they can hide. Even Hans doesn’t want to be king so badly that he’d marry me knowing I’m carrying another man’s child. He wouldn’t want the shame. Or to know that his child wouldn’t be the heir. He wouldn’t take the chance.”

Kristoff sighed heavily. “Maybe the shock of it will finally kill that old bastard.”

“A girl can dream.” Anna said softly. “But I understand if you want to change your mind or –“

“No.” He spoke firmly and kissed her forehead. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”

Anna beamed and pressed herself against him. He basked in her warmth as he held her. “Whatever I need?” She murmured. “I need you.”

“Hm?”

“I need you, Kristoff.” Her voice was husky as she looked up at him with hooded eyes. He had seen that look before. Often in private. And often when he quickly needed to excuse himself because that look did things to his blood. “Now. I want to start now.”

He swallowed hard, looking at the bed behind her, the locked door and the way her lips were slightly parted. The bodice of her dress, mussed from their embrace, hung lower than normal and he could see her skin flushing above her delicate collarbone. He swallowed again, trying to think as she moved against him and reached to pull his head down, capturing his mouth with hers. A heat flared within and he was unable to form a single coherent thought about why they should wait, why this was too rushed and how he’d prefer to do this without the pressure of this threat hanging over her head and a horrible husband waiting to claim her.

He lifted her, never breaking their kiss and laid her down on the bed. Why was he fighting this? He didn’t want to wait either. This was Anna. And she wanted to be his. And he would obey her every command. Now, and every day for so long as he lived.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There is NSFW material in this chapter and please be mindful of the M rating. This scene, in particular, revisits and twists a rather intense scene from The Conquered in Chapter 2. And while there is no violence in the scene, and although Agnarr was unaware of the threats she faced at the time, when Runeard forced Iduna to wed Agnarr there would have been quite a lot of pressure and sense of coercion. So please be careful if reading that kind of content might be a trigger, I would recommend skipping to the second part of the chapter as designated by a string of asterisks.
> 
> Also, I greatly appreciate everyone who has been reading along. Your comments make my day and I’m very happy that people are enjoying this story. But I’m going to respectfully ask that you please do not ask when it will be updated. Updates are going to continue to be irregular. We are living through a period of a global pandemic, economic instability, and civil unrest. This story is somewhat of an escape for me (and for you, I hope) and I would like it not to become another demand. Thank you for your understanding.
> 
> As always, thank you Fericita for your unflagging support in beta reading and contributions to crafting it into a better story! I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you.

Iduna carelessly tossed the dagger onto the table behind her new husband. It wouldn’t do to have him think she meant to stab him. As much as she relished the thought. She tore the corset away and let it fall. Pushed her hands against the waist of her pantalettes until the ribbon gave way and they slid down her legs and to the floor. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. The same wild desperation that had driven her to tear Agnarr’s dagger from his belt now prompted her to speak.

“Your turn,” she murmured, waiting for him to move. Instead, he gawked, eyes wide and mouth open, with his massive hands hanging limply at his sides. An ugly blush was rising from below his high collar, quickly spreading across his face. He had the audacity to look mortified. 

She should have stabbed him. 

Instead, she forced herself to keep her breathing steady.

She waited as he watched her, his uncertainty palpable in the air between them. His eyes were wild and hungry and full of conflict and he could not tear his gaze from her. Steadying herself with the knowledge that this would be over soon, that the nightmare she had lived for the past three months would be over, that her family would finally be safe, Iduna stepped towards him. She expected him to flinch or retreat or take her in his arms, but instead he simply stood there.

She pressed against him, the buttons of his uniform cold against her skin. Wrapping her arms around him she could feel Agnarr’s breath hitch. She could also feel the evidence of his desire for her between them. He wasn’t as in control as he was trying to appear. She shivered and looked up at him. His expression of arousal mixed with shame made her smirk. For all he might try to talk as though he were better than his father, it was too apparent what his animal instincts were prepared to do. 

She was in control. 

And he was not.

She hadn’t had control of anything since coming to the castle. She felt a surge of perverse pleasure at being able to wield this one thing over Arendelle. She might be beholden to Runeard’s propensity for violence against her people, but she would never find herself completely at the mercy of Agnarr’s self-righteous and misplaced sense of goodness.

_They could wait? It was fine? She didn’t have to do this?_

Agnarr might be able to wallow in ignorance, but Iduna did not have that luxury.

“You had a good look at me?” She smiled with her teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. He wet his lips with his tongue, but didn’t respond. “Hm?”

“Yes.” His voice was pained. She felt her expression soften for a moment. 

Sensitive, is what her mother had called him, when they were young together. Much too kind for a future king. Then her jaw clenched as she gazed up at his conflicted face. If she wanted to hear her mother’s voice again, this was what needed to be done. He could have called the wedding off at any point over the past three months if he felt that damned guilty.

“Agnarr.” Her voice was hushed. “Do you remember our first kiss?”

She had been infatuated with the golden-haired southerner and his brilliant smile at fourteen. It had stopped being a treasured memory the moment his father had tricked the Northuldra into travelling beyond the borders of their lands to be met with an ambush. That kiss was now what she had come to consider her first adult mistake, one that had marked her for this fate, for Runeard forcing her to the castle. An act of immense consequences although she had still been a child.

But Agnarr didn’t have to know that. And she had stopped writing him letters years before he had given up on her and stopped as well. That meant something. She had leverage here.

She stretched her arms up to bury her fingers in the hair at the back of his head. Rising onto her toes, she pulled his mouth down to hers and kissed him fiercely. It was nothing like the shy, hesitant brushing of their lips that first time, given with her smiling permission after he nervously asked if they could. She was holding on to him so fast that the pressure of their mouths felt bruising.

For a moment, she worried it was too much.

But then, to her relief, Agnarr let out a muffled moan and she felt his hands against her waist, then sliding up her back as he drew her tightly against him. His medals dug into her skin to the point of pain and she gasped.

“Your coat-“

“Sorry,” he panted. He pulled back just far enough so they could both fumble with his buttons. The jacket off and forgotten in a heap on the floor, Iduna grasped his shirt and pulled him towards the bed. “We don’t-“

“We do.” She palmed him through his trousers and he jerked against her hand.

“Iduna-“

“I want.” She said as she began to deftly undo each button of his dress shirt.

“You do?” 

She had to bite back a derisive laugh at the wonder in his voice. It was such a shock to him? Of course she wanted. She wanted his father to stop hurting her brothers. Her father. She wanted the soldiers of Arendelle to leave her people in peace on the tiny scraps of land they had left them.

She wanted to be done with this.

But instead of responding, she pressed her mouth against his searing chest and felt the wild pounding of his heart against her lips. She traced the tip of her tongue to the dip at the base of his neck as he shuddered and buried his face in her hair.

“Please,” she murmured against him. 

Mercifully, that was enough. 

He didn’t make her beg. 

She could see the last of any misplaced resolve or hesitation drain away as he lifted her onto the bed. She let her head hit the pillows as he climbed over her, brushing the hair away from her face with a tenderness she had no time for and carefully balancing so as not to crush her beneath his sturdy frame.

But she wasn’t interested in his restraint. She knew him. If she let him think too much about what she had said earlier, about her outburst, he would falter. And when he tried to be gentle, to give her space, she clung tightly too him and moved deliberately to drive his passion forward. To overwhelm his senses.

It worked.

It was a quick, sharp pain and she covered her surprise by biting his shoulder which made him moan, but then it was over. For a wild moment, she worried that he would remember her bold lie earlier, but he hadn’t stopped. And any discomfort that Iduna felt in that instant, she rationalized that it was nothing compared to what her family had been through. That was pain. This was only uncomfortable. The feel of him against her, the friction of their skin as they moved, the taste and the scent of him all combined to make her feel dizzy and a little nauseous.

She tried to seek refuge in her thoughts, but was unable to contemplate anything other than the strange paradox of the feeling of fullness within her while feeling so utterly empty inside. And try as she might, with her eyes closed, she couldn’t think louder than the stupid animal sounds they were both making. Because, spirits helps her, as much as her mind wanted to disassociate from this place, what they were doing felt good enough to demand her attention.

But it was brief. 

And while Agnarr lost himself senseless in their act, she had not. She held him as he finished shaking and gasping against her. He collapsed at her side and buried his face against her neck. Iduna pulled the sheets up to cover herself as she caught her breath. She stared down at him. His eyes were closed as he gasped for air and his chest was heaving. 

A cold tendril of contempt wound its way through her as she watched him try to regain his wits. Even angry and clumsy and awkward as she had been, she had managed to seduce him. For all his initial protests, it had been easy enough to strip his self-control away along with his clothing. Her teeth ached and she realized she was grinding them.

“I love you,” he breathed against her, pressing a gentle kiss against her jawline. He nuzzled her again, wrapping his arm around her waist. In that moment, she knew with a piercing clarity and sense of certainty two truths that would rule her life: she would never respect this man and she would never, could never, love him.

“You are my husband.” She replied.

* * * * *

Iduna opened her eyes and sat up quickly. Her mother had not lit a fire before leaving and it took a moment for her vision to adjust to the gloom inside the kota. She drew a deep breath and rubbed her face. Sometimes she had nightmares where Agnarr had been cold or cruel or has hateful as his father. Sometimes she dreamt that they had never fallen for one another and led a loveless marriage. Sometimes she held him as tenderly as she ever had and relished the feel of him against her before waking cold and alone. It was hard to tell which were the most upsetting any more.

Yelana would scoff if she knew how often Iduna still thought of her husband. She had never mentioned it to her mother. She didn’t have the right. Not after how her father had been lost.

She took a few minutes to wash and dress for the day before venturing outside. The days were often long after dreams of Agnarr and she had found it best she keep herself busy. She found Kaija with her children and offered to take Little Destin and Valde for a walk along their favorite stream. It was always crawling with salamanders and fascinating water beetles. The trick was keeping Valde from popping them into his mouth as they explored the muddy bank and turned rocks over one by one.

Iduna enjoyed pointing to the various plants and allowing Little Destin to name them. He was a clever boy with a sharp memory. Mattias would be proud of his grandson, if they ever got to meet one another. They had just found a small pool full of tiny shimmering fish that darted beneath the rippling water when she heard someone calling her name. It was Yelana. Iduna stood upright and waved as the boys splashed at the fish with their hands.

“We’re over here!”

Yelana briskly approached her. “I’ll take them back to Kaija,” she said as she motioned at the boys. “Your daughter is looking for you. She just returned from Ahtohallan. Seems rather flustered.”

Iduna frowned. “Did she say why?”

“No, but Nokk is restless. Almost trampled a cooking fire while she was checking your kota. Go on, I can manage these two.”

“You sure?” Little Destin’s skepticism was apparent in his frown and Iduna smiled at him.

“Behave or I’ll have a word with your mother.” She warned them in a gentle tone as she started back towards the village.

“Iduna!” Now it was Honeymaren who came rushing up to her. “Elsa is looking for you.”

“Yes, Yelana just found me with Kaija’s boys. Is everything alright?”

“I don’t know.” The young woman bit her lip and looked back apprehensively. “She was getting a bit frantic, but she wouldn’t tell me what it was about. She said she needed to talk with you first.”

Iduna felt a chill grip her heart. There were no secrets between Elsa and her partner. The two had been close since they were children and it was a rare occurrence that Honeymaren couldn’t soothe Elsa’s worry away. If her daughter wasn’t saying anything to Honeymaren, it must be a family affair. It had to be about Anna or Agnarr. Iduna hurried towards the village as Honeymaren fell in step next to her.

“She did say no one is dead.”

“That’s not very reassuring.”

“That’s what I told her.” Honeymaren snorted. “But she wouldn’t say anything else. Just that she had to find you.” They reached the edge of the village and Iduna saw Nokk cantering around the kotas.

“Hey!” Honeymaren shouted, waving her arms. “Found her!” Nokk whinnied and Elsa appeared with Destin next to her. 

“Mother!” Elsa looked relieved.

“Yelana has the boys,” Iduna said to Destin before turning to Elsa. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure.” She was wringing her hands. “We should go inside. I need to show you something. Destin, Honey – you should stay too.” They all looked at Iduna and she nodded, granting her permission as she ushered them into her kota.

“Elsa!” Iduna heard her mother’s shocked exclamation. “Did you find her?”

“Yelana found her, Seija,” Honeymaren said. Iduna shut the door behind them as they began to settle on various chairs and stools.

“Grandma, you should see this too.” Elsa screwed her eyes shut in concentration and waved her hands. 

Iduna gasped as Agnarr’s face materialized. Elsa had stopped showing her the snowy visions of Agnarr and Anna years ago, save for the rare occasion where she requested it. Short, happy memories from their early marriage when they girls had been young or moments stolen in time from when they had been young enough themselves to gather nuts. But here, he was visibly older with lines on his face that she could not recall. But the slant of his smile and the joy that shone in his eyes was heartachingly familiar. He was dressed in a vest with his sleeves rolled to the elbow. She felt her eyes sting as she brought her hands to her mouth.

“Father.” Destin was grinning as Colonel Mattias appeared standing next to Agnarr. Destin pointed at another figure who was rapidly forming. A short man with a twisted arm in vestment robes. “And that’s Chaplain Haines. I remember him.”

“Oh, Anna.” Iduna felt her mother’s arm wrap around her as they clung to one another. Her youngest was smiling radiantly, bouncing on her toes and holding her hands out – Iduna tilted her head. There was a small bouquet of flowers that Anna passed off to Cecilia who was tall and as lovely as her mother had been years before. Iduna glanced at Destin who did not seem to be the least bit surprised by his sister’s appearance and wondered how often Elsa had shown him his family after her trips. She never thought to ask.

A young man with a thick, unruly mop of hair appeared. As tall as Agnarr, but broader than he had ever been with the burly build of a man accustomed to physical labor. He wore a vest and a waist sash with a tribal pattern that Iduna couldn’t quite place. He smiled broadly and Iduna couldn’t help but mirror her daughter’s ecstatic grin. The boy seemed warm and friendly. And he clearly adored Anna. Her mother elbowed her in the side.

“What is it about men with unfortunate noses that appeals to you and Anna?”

“Mama!” She elbowed her back and turned once more to the scene. Agnarr was surreptitiously wiping his eyes with one hand as the young man took both of Anna’s hands in one of his. She couldn’t help but smile. Agnarr had often done the same. They watched in silence as the figures sped through the motions of the ceremony faster than it must have occurred.

And then, impossibly, Iduna heard Anna’s voice for the first time in years.

“I do.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you Fericita for taking the time to beta-read this and providing some much needed levity when my subconscious tosses stuff in there that goes right over my head XD

“The Sommerhus?” Runeard frowned as he looked up from the documents scattered across his desk. Anna smiled sweetly with her hands clasped in front of her. She was practically bouncing on her toes. “My dear, why on earth would you want to go there?”

“Grandfather.” She sighed and shook her head, though her smile never wavered. He placed his letter opener down and leaned back in his chair. “The Sommerhus was a charming little getaway when I was younger. I know it’s fallen into disrepair, but it shouldn’t take me long to restore it.”

“Restore it?” He laughed. “Anna, what are you going on about? Why would you want to restore it?”

“Grandfather!” To his surprise, she sounded almost scandalized and blushed brightly as she dropped her gaze. “I’ll – you know, I’ll be a married woman soon. With a husband. It would be good to have a little privacy in the spring. A place to get away.”

“A place to – ah.” Runeard rubbed his nose to hide his discomfort as he felt the heat on his cheeks. She had always been so demonstrative in her affections towards Hans, it had never occurred to him that she might feel bashful about these matters. But she was a well-mannered girl.

“I know we wouldn’t be able to travel there until the spring, but it’d be so much easier if I prepared everything while Hans is settling his affairs in the Southern Isles. He’ll be back by October and I promise I’d have everything done by then. We’d only have to close the house for the season and wait for spring. And I’d have everything just the way I wanted it.” She looked so hopeful. He sighed.

“I could always build you a chalet for a wedding gift. It wouldn’t be finished by next summer, but by the following year it could be done. Something special. Built to your specifications.”

“You’re too generous.” Anna smiled as she circled around the desk to give him a half-hug as he remained seated. “But that would be so costly.”

“You know I don’t mind.”

“I know you don’t. And it’s such a kind offer.”

“But?” He raised his eyebrow. He should have had the damned shack torn down years ago.

“But . . .” She trailed off and bit her lip, looking apprehensive. He waited. She swallowed. “But . . .Hans and I . . .well, we had a moment with one another there. Nothing untoward happened!” She said quickly. “I swear. The royal guards were only a short distance off. We didn’t even go inside. It was last year and we were riding. And we were passing at a distance when he noticed it, so we rode up. And I told him about how I used to live there.” She paused and he saw the faraway look in her eyes. “I told him about my mother and my sister and he didn’t judge me for them.”

“Hans is better than that, Anna.” Runeard said gently and patted her hand. She blinked several times, wiped at her eyes and smiled.

“He is. But it made me realize that I’m not bound by the past. There was nothing inherently bad or sad or scary about that place. It was just a bit of a ramshackle old holiday house, but with Hans it felt like a palace. He just chased away the old memories. And that’s what I want, Grandfather. I want it to be our place. His and mine. It was the first time he ever said that he loved me. It’s special to us. I want to surprise him with it.”

Runeard took a deep breath as he considered her request. It could be hard to tell Anna ‘no’ when she set her little heart on one of her particularly romantic notions. But it was a harmless request if it was what she wanted. Perhaps it could even be seen as yet another triumph over that traitorous would-be assassin. To have the legitimate heir to the Crocus Throne summering there once more with her consort. He would discuss it with Marte. She had her finger on the pulse of Arendelle.

“You know it’s not in my nature to deny you anything, my dear. Let me think about it.”

* * * * *

Agnarr lay in his bed and stared blindly into the dark.

He had been dreaming of Iduna again. Of happier days when he could stretch and feel her warmth or turn to his side and curl into her as she hugged his arm against her chest. To breathe in the lavender scent of her hair and feel their hearts beat in time. He often dreamt of such moments when things were difficult.

And it had been a difficult month.

Hans’ unexpected invitation to Arendelle had been an unpleasant mystery that had been solved when Runeard announced Anna’s engagement with no warning. Agnarr had not been invited to the ball, of course, and had been reading quietly in his study when his daughter found him. He nearly warned her away and chided her for taking such a risk before catching her distraught expression and silencing himself. She had been half-hysterical so he had locked the door and held her tightly, reassuring her that she had done the right thing and that he was so proud of her composure in gaining another few months of freedom.

“He wants to disinherit you.” Anna sniffled. “As soon as I’m wed.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

It didn’t. The kingdom would survive, so it hardly mattered as much as the misery that she was sure to endure as Hans’ wife. Agnarr’s misgivings about that snake aside, his daughter’s heart already belonged to someone else. So they had discussed a plan.

It was a desperate plan. 

It was a desperate plan and Iduna never would have approved of it.

He could almost hear her voice, chastising him.

What was worse, he agreed with her voice in his head.

He had no qualms with Kristoff. The young man was as devoted and reliable as any father could hope for his daughter’s suitor. The only issue with his lack of title and wealth was that it meant the lad lacked protection. He had no influence or political clout to defend himself when the time came. Agnarr could easily imagine his father making Kristoff vanish as surely as though he had never existed. 

Or simply killing him and not bothering to make it look like an accident.

But Kristoff was a grown man and was willing to take that risk for Anna. If that was the choice they wanted to make, Agnarr would respect it. And it had been a touching, if tiny, ceremony. The love in Anna’s face had been a sight that would remain with him to his dying day. There had been so much of Iduna in her. He would have given nearly anything if she could have been there to see Anna get married.

But the other part of the plan.

The part that Anna had described using the word “ruin”. Agnarr winced at the word. Nothing could ruin her. But he agreed that Hans was not the kind of man who would ever suffer the insult of a wife who wasn’t “pure”. With a pang, Agnarr recalled Iduna’s words to him on their wedding night. A lie. A test. He had never pressed her about it. There would have been no point to it. Even if it hadn’t been a lie, it wouldn’t have mattered.

But on the off-chance they were wrong, that Hans could look past a bride who wasn’t a virgin, it was inconceivable that he would tolerate a bastard with a claim to the throne. He was an ambitious man under all that charm. There was a steel to him. He wanted power and a legacy. He would not raise another man’s child so that they could inherit the throne. He would not endure the scandal. The personal insult would be too great.

_Your father will kill our grandchild while it grows inside her._

Agnarr clenched his hands at his sides. He heard his wife’s voice as clearly as if she were lying next to him. She had always been right about Runeard. Iduna had witnessed his capacity for cruelty and horror firsthand and made no apologies or excuses for him. While Agnarr had tried to rationalize and convince himself that his father loved him and would not hurt him or his family, Iduna had pragmatically taken steps to ensure that his father could not hurt the girls. She might have failed, but at least she had tried to do something. 

What had he done? 

Quietly sailed off without public complaint whenever ordered to do so. 

Denounced his beloved wife and eldest daughter.

“Stop it,” he muttered to himself. This was not the time for self-pity.

_He’ll kill her husband. He’ll kill the unborn child. He’ll force her to wed Hans._

Agnarr shifted uncomfortably in the bed. He wished he could tell Iduna that he knew. He knew she was right. He finally understood, after all these years, who and what his father was capable of doing. That he had tried to warn Anna.

“No, Papa.” She had smiled and patted his hand. “He’ll be mad, but he won’t hurt me. He loves me.”

Agnarr hadn’t known how to convince her that Runeard was incapable of love. That his kindness was very conditional and his affection as mercurial as an ocean squall. No matter how he tried to explain, to belatedly share some of the more indelicate details of his engagement and early marriage, Anna would not listen to him. She had made up her mind.

He knew that Iduna could have convinced her. If she were here. Of course, if she were here there would be no need to convince Anna that Runeard was a threat. Runeard would have been long dead if Iduna was lying next to him. But she wasn’t. She was in the North, trapped behind an impenetrable magical fog that might never recede.

Iduna had also enacted a desperate plan in trying to poison the king. He had been able to discover what had happened that night before Runeard had burst in on their family, screaming accusations of treason. She had acted foolishly, impulsively – but Agnarr had never been angry with her. Because she had done it for him. For their daughters. She might have done something desperate and foolish, but she had done _something_. She was right to do it. She had no good choices when she had acted. Only various lesser evils and moral shades of gray. She had gambled and she had lost but, damn it, she had tried.

He was tired of not even trying. Of doing nothing. He had held himself in check to protect his family ever since they had first left the castle all those years ago. And he had been forced to maintain such self-restraint to safeguard Anna that his joints and jaws ached with the effort of it every day.

Anna was no longer a child. And she had been a prisoner of Runeard’s designs for so long.

If this was her plan – their plan – he would do whatever he could to support her.

And pray for the best.

* * * * *

Anna woke to the mournful call of an owl. Next to her, Kristoff snored gently, his arm heavy and reassuring across her waist. She yawned and tossed the sheets over her legs. The languid warmth of the previous evening had given way to a chill. She burrowed against his side as he snuffled and held her closer.

It had taken almost no time at all to complete the repairs on the Sommerhus that required a crew of laborers. Less than a week to fix the doors that hung lopsided on broken hinges and to replace windows or water-damaged panels. The smell of fresh paint still hung in the air, but the work crews were gone. Cecilia was in the room she and Elsa had often shared down the hall. They had told her grandfather that she would need help decorating – a second set of eyes to select the drapes and furniture and other such things. 

The escort that had originally dispatched with her wasn’t someone they trusted. Unfortunately for him, the man had mysteriously taken ill only two days after they arrived and a Corporal whose cousin had vanished in the North when the mist came down and held no love for the king in her heart had been sent as a replacement. Mattias had vouched for her in the sealed letter she presented upon her arrival. She stayed in her room above the store house, spent her time fishing, and liked to exclaim “My God, I’ve gone suddenly blind, best wander over that way to try and find my sight!” and then walk off into the woods whenever Kristoff was around.

It had been a glorious July.

Only . . .

With every delivery, every bolt of fabric purchased and tailored, every bric-a-brac and bauble that she purchased and arranged, autumn drew ever closer. Anna shivered and bit her lip hard enough that she winced. She would have to return to Arendelle and Hans. Even if he would be staying in a separate wing of the castle, he would be waiting for her. It would be impossible for she and Kristoff to continue as they were. Lying in bed as man and wife every night and exercising their marital rights on a whim.

Without a baby, there was nothing stopping her being married off to Hans.

She clutched Kristoff’s hand tightly. He grunted. In the moonlight, she could see one of his eyes crack open.

“Anna?” His voice was thick with sleep. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” she murmured and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

“Something wrong?”

“No.” She thought for a moment. “Well, nothing in particular.” She amended. Everything was wrong. Everything was unknown and uncertain. The looming inevitability and precarity of the future was weighing on her every moment of every day she spent with him. But she hadn’t meant to wake him up.

And, she reflected with a smile, she was fairly certain she had worn him out earlier.

He needed his sleep. To keep his strength up.

“What not in particular is wrong?” He turned onto his side so that they were facing one another. He smiled and ran his hand up and down her arm. She reached out and gently tweaked his nose.

“You should be resting,” she chided him. He shrugged.

“So should you. I wore you out earlier. Or, at least, I thought I did.”

“No,” Anna arched an eyebrow at him as she propped herself up on her elbow. “I wore _you_ out.”

Kristoff laughed and yawned again. “Hey, I’m not gonna argue with you. We can just go again and figure out who wears who out that way.” She giggled and playfully hit his shoulder. He grinned, but then it faded. “But why’d you wake up? Were you thinking about earlier?”

She froze.

He had taken her north. To the Mist. Grandfather had never let her go. She had never even thought to ask. Acting utterly disinterested in her mother and Elsa and the Northuldra had been a survival tactic. She knew her father had been taken there, years before, to see if his presence might change anything. It had not and he had spent the remainder of that autumn in an unusually melancholy mood.

She had asked him about it. He had described a white and pale purple wall that towered to the sky. A swirling, shifting enigma that changed shades of color as the sun tracked through the sky. But remembering what her father told her that he had seen had hardly prepared her for the reality. Moving though it was, misty though it was, it was impenetrable and unyielding. She had gawked at the sheer enormity of it, tall and long as the horizon. Without thinking, she had reached out to touch it, idly wondering if perhaps no one had thought to simply push through.

There had been a flurry of colored light that illuminated her fingers. A dull sound. And then something unseen had forced her hand back as she hissed in surprise. It was such a shock, that she had almost tumbled backwards, but Kristoff had been there to catch and steady her on her feet. She could hardly describe the sensation that had accompanied it – a painless burn. Pins and needles. 

“Anna?”

She shook her head. “Sorry. No. Not that. Thank you for taking me, Kristoff. I’m glad I saw it. I don’t know what I expected but thank you.” She sighed. “I was just thinking how we’ve been married six weeks and there’s still no baby.”

“Anna, it’s only been six weeks. Sometimes these things take time.”

“Kristoff, we don’t have time.” He went to kiss her, but she turned away from him and pulled his arm against her chest. She began to play with his thick fingers. “We don’t. If I’m not expecting, if there’s nothing to drive Hans away then there’s nothing to stop Grandfather from forcing me to wed.” She shuddered. “And I can’t – I just can’t do that, Kristoff.” Her eyes began to sting. “I just can’t imagine being married to him. Sharing my life with him. Sharing a bed.”

“That’s not going to happen.” He drew her against him. She closed her eyes and allowed his warmth to envelop her. The reassuring strength of his protective arms as he embraced her. “I won’t let it.”

She tried, and failed, to smile at his words. “You won’t be able to stop it.” Her voice shook. “No one has been able to stop Grandfather once his mind is fixed on something. Not since my parents tricked him with the land tax.”

“We have my family, Anna.” He reminded her. “It doesn’t matter how powerful your Grandfather is in Arendelle, he has no sway outside of it. Even the spirits were able to safeguard the Northern Forest from him – even if it meant sealing it off from the rest of the world. If things get dangerous, we always have somewhere to go. Somewhere we’d be safe. You’d be safe.”

“I couldn’t just abandon my father-“

“He could come with us. I know you both worry about the throne. I know you don’t want to disrupt anything. But I think the people of Arendelle would surprise you. Your Grandfather isn’t exactly popular. We’re not the only ones waiting for him to die.”

“Don’t,” she murmured. She rolled so that their foreheads were touching. “Could your family, you know, do some kind of magic to help?”

“No. I asked.”

Anna sighed. “It’s so strange. Halima learned to make teas from my mother. One to have a baby. One not to have a baby. But magic can’t do anything?”

He reached out and rubbed the pad of his thumb against her cheek. He smiled.

“I guess we’ll just have to keep trying,” he said before leaning forward to take her mouth in his.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you Fericita for beta-reading this chapter and for the GREAT chat that Kristoff and Agnarr surely had that one time which appears here in abbreviated form.

Elsa glanced at her mother. Iduna was gasping and clapping a hand over her mouth. Tears were beginning to trail down her cheeks. Her grandma hugged her tightly from behind. Elsa lowered her hands, but her mother shook her head.

“No, please. Keep – keep going.” She wiped her eyes. Elsa licked her lips and glanced at Destin who gave her a bewildered shrug. “She just sounds so happy and grown up.”

“Yeah,” Destin managed to say. He grinned at Honeymaren. “It’s good to hear Anna so happy. I mean, it’s a little strange that Chaplain Haines is presiding over a royal wedding but-“

“It’s not a royal wedding,” Elsa said rather breathlessly. “It’s not. That isn’t Hans.”

“What?” Her mother and grandma spoke as one. Elsa was beginning to regret not being more forthcoming with them about Anna’s predicament. She had only vaguely and infrequently mentioned that the young man intended for her had been foisted on her little sister. They had no idea what he looked like.

“Maybe Runeard married her off to someone else?” Honeymaren asked.

“A laborer?” Elsa gestured at the young man’s clothing and belt. Destin and her mother exchanged a glance. “With tribal roots?” She waved her hand and the scene sped up. She slowed it as Anna and the young man began to ceremonially share a guksi.

“No.” Her grandmother frowned as she watched the couple drink deeply. “Runeard would never allow it.”

“But Agnarr approves.” Her mother was chewing her lip. “Although the spirits know that if Anna got it fixed in her head to marry that boy, he wouldn’t be able to do much to stop her.” She smiled and shook her head. “She could be so stubborn as a child.”

“As though you were any different!” Her grandmother snorted.

“So what does it mean?” Destin asked. He was rubbing the back of his neck and sounded uncertain as he looked at her. Elsa shrugged and waved her hand as the scene came to an end.

“It means she’s married,” she said. “Beyond that . . .I don’t know.”

“Darling.” Her mother’s voice was hesitant. She met her worried eyes. “I hate to ask . . .but . . .do you think you could manage another trip to Ahtohallan? To find out more about this young man? Is – would that be possible?”

“I can’t promise that I’ll find out more, but I’ll try.”

“It’s easier when she knows who she’s looking for.” Honeymaren looked at her with pride and Elsa smiled at her.

“It is easier. But still, I can only promise that I’ll try.”

* * * * *

Elsa found quite a lot to like about Kristoff Bjorgman.

She couldn’t stop laughing upon discovering that he was an ice harvester by trade. Or that he had been adopted by the trolls who lived outside of Arendelle. Ice and magic. She wondered how much Anna had told him about her. He seemed like a kind man, calm and capable, and he was clearly besotted with her sister.

At the moment, she was watching a memory play out involving her father and Kristoff. As best as she could tell, the poor man had been visiting Anna in the castle and had somehow gotten trapped and taken refuge in her father’s room. They were sitting on a large bed and although the figures were formed in the same blue-white snow as ever, Elsa could too easily imagine the bright red of Kristoff’s cheeks as he stared at the floor, hands clasped in his lap, while her father regaled him with the story of her parents’ wedding night.

“Then after I realized she probably wasn’t going to stab me, we came to an agreement – a truce, really, although I barely slept a wink that night. You understand, I’m sure? And in the morning I burned our sheets to protect her honor. It’s an important thing, isn’t it? Protecting a lady’s honor. How would you say you live that in your life, young man, hm?”

“Oh, Father.” Elsa sighed and shook her head. When she had taken up with Honeymaren, she had faced more scrutiny from Yelana than her mother or grandmother. Ryder had nearly cried and pulled her into a crushing hug. She wondered what he would make of her partner, if he would have put her through some similar lecture for his amusement. She smiled fondly at his figure until the hue of the ice surrounding her deepened. Elsa glanced around.

There were times that Ahtohallan wanted to show her something. The spirits were not subtle. Once, when she had been in the lichen meadows, somehow the spirits had sent her an icy warning about a small child clinging to a root at a nearby riverbank. The sudden appearance of the alarming ice figure had startled her and the other herders terribly, but they had been able to rescue the little girl.

She nodded her assent and her father and Kristoff vanished into the ground. She blinked as her father rose up again before her, in his uniform – not his bedclothes. Colonel Mattias was standing next to him. They were staring off into the distance and although she looked over her shoulder, it must not have been of any consequence because nothing appeared. Elsa turned back to them.

“She’ll be happy for the time being, at least.” Colonel Mattias clapped her father on the shoulder who merely shook his head and sighed.

“And then what? I don’t know which outcome is worse. Either she doesn’t get pregnant and she’s forced to marry Hans or she does get pregnant and who knows what Runeard will do?” 

Elsa’s eyes flew open. Was that their plan? It was insanity!

“Agnarr, you can’t know-“

“That he’ll kill her unborn child?” Her father spoke bluntly, each word laced with bitterness. “He would. If he thinks it will end in the match he favors to the Westergard brat. That snake has spent so much time charming the old man he’s completely blind to his ambitions.” He spat. “Iduna would never have stood for this. I swear, I should just march into his room in the middle of the night and hold a pillow over his face until the thrashing stops.”

“Watch your words, my friend. Arendelle has suffered enough loss the past few years. You can’t ask the people to choose between their prince and their king. Anna would suffer whether you failed or succeeded in your attempt.”

Elsa winced as her father and Colonel Mattias vanished, replaced by a hazy wall of furious, swirling flurries before her. She waved her hand, but nothing happened. Curious, she cocked her head and examined it. It seemed to stretch across the endless cavern and into the dark shadows of the ceiling. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear it was – a shadow appeared against the white haze, interrupting her thoughts. A distorted voice that Elsa would recognize anywhere filtered through the snowy swarm.

“It’s so big,” Anna said, as though from a great distance.

_It’s the mist_ , Elsa realized as her younger sister’s crisp silhouette grew. She nearly cried out a warning before remembering that this moment had already passed. Whatever happened had already happened. Besides, what was there to warn her of? The Northuldra had already spent years trying to break through to no avail.

“I never thought anything could be so big.” Anna’s voice was full of wonder. Her shadow shifted and Elsa watched as she reached out to touch the impenetrable wall that kept them apart. Suddenly, the flurries froze. Instead of a shimmering haze, before her now stood a solid barrier of snow and ice, nearly indistinguishable from any of the cave’s walls.

A surge of wild rage coursed through her. What was this? A reminder of her failures? Of her little sister, trapped on the other side and facing their sociopathic family patriarch while Elsa, at least, enjoyed the freedom to pursue her own life and love even if she couldn’t leave the forest? She hadn’t asked for this. For any of it. Who were the spirits to meddle in her family’s lives? Was it punishment for what Runeard had done? She and Anna hadn’t even been born. Her parents could hardly have been expected to stop him. 

But under the anger, hot and tight in her chest, was an unfathomable sense of grief at the thought she might never see Anna again. What good was it for her to know that her sister was happily married now? And that her happiness was so tenuous and dangerous? She still felt a chill whenever her grandfather’s words came back to her. 

_Your body belongs to the Crown_. 

It was impossible to think that he wouldn’t inflict such a maxim on Anna. To force Hans on Anna the way he had tried to force him on her. 

She hated feeling so helpless.

Elsa stared at the dark imprint of her sister’s hand on the white snow.

“Anna,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.” She reached out, fingers splayed and deliberately pressed her palm where Anna’s would be had they been there together. The flurry burst into life. Her hand seemed frozen into place although the snow drove her back several paces, heels sliding against the slick floor. She gasped and tried not to fall as she was pushed farther from her sister. The silhouette vanished and then there was a flash of light and the growing blizzard between where she was and where her sister had been vanished, replaced by delicate crystals that hung in the air for a moment before crashing to the ground.

But despite that spectacle, Elsa’s attention was entirely on Anna’s shocked expression that she could see plain despite the distance between them. She sprinted towards the icy figure. Anna was gripping her arm as though it pained her while staggering backward. Kristoff appeared and steadied her from behind, his broad arm firmly around her back. 

“Anna, are you alright?”

“I’m fine! It just pushed me back. That’s all. My arm is kind of tingly.”

The pair continued backing away into the darkness of Ahtohallan’s depths until Elsa could no longer see them. She glanced down at the countless crystals that lay at her feet where the blizzard had raged between her and Anna. She bent down to examine them as they glittered in the blue light that often followed her as she moved through the cave. Air. Fire. Water. Earth. She picked up one that had the symbol for ‘Fire’ and turned it over in her hands, pondering what she had just witnessed.

Anna had finally come to the mist. Rather recently. And she had touched it which, Elsa reflected with a wry smile, of course she had. That was a very Anna thing to do. The mist had pushed her hand back. That was odd. Although the Northuldra were usually pushed back a bit, she and her mother could touch it even if they were unable to force their way through. She frowned. What were the spirits trying to convey?

Anna had touched the wall and time froze. When Elsa had reached out to touch her sister . . .she felt cold at the realization. Could it be that simple? Was it that simple? She glanced once more at the crystals littering the ground.

The spirits were not subtle.

She needed to talk to Yelana.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you Fericita for beta-reading and helping me to unravel some of the knots in the story.

Summer had quickly given way to autumn’s chill.

Agnarr felt it in his bones now, as the wind whipped up off the fjord and the people of Arendelle donned heavier clothing to keep it at bay. His hands ached as he flexed them. As he walked through the Market Square, the people – his people – gave him a respectful berth as they moved out of his path, murmuring respectful greetings as they bowed their heads. He had grown accustomed to their muted, sympathetic stares and glances years ago. It was hard not to overhear what was said about him. A mix of his father’s lies and misinterpreted half-truths.

The Prince was mad.

The Prince was still half-enchanted.

The Prince was sick with grief, mourning the loss of his wife and daughter.

It hardly mattered any longer. All he could continue to do was to endure for Anna’s sake. Perhaps there had been a time where he could have moved openly against his father and expected the support of Arendelle, but Mattias was correct. That time had passed. Perhaps it would come again. If it were to come, Agnarr hoped it would happen soon. He had been a coward before. He wouldn’t be again.

Cecilia had managed to smuggle him a personal letter from Anna while Kornhonen had gone to relieve his bladder. Of course, she sent him a short, bi-weekly courtesy missive full of banalities that was no doubt pored over by Runeard’s agents or even Runeard himself, but this one had been different. Although she was vague and used code words, the state of his daughter’s desperation was obvious. Hans was returning and her grandfather had summoned her back to the castle. She was delaying as long as she could, but she would have to return. She did not write anything that could be used to incriminate her, but it was clear that she had yet to conceive a child with her husband.

Agnarr felt a mix of disappointment and relief about not becoming a grandfather so soon. He still feared that what Anna believed would save her from marriage to Hans would instead have a bloody toll, as Iduna’s imagined voice in his head often told him. He had tossed the letter into the fire as soon as he finished reading it, accepted Halima’s offer of a brandy, and fell into another imagined conversation with Iduna. His best ideas came to him disguised as hers.

“Your Highness.” A familiar and unwelcome voice stopped him in his tracks as he started across the castle bridge. He turned and acknowledged the young man’s bow.

“Prince Hans.” Agnarr inclined his head and forced a smile. The little snake thought him simple and it would be convenient to keep it that way. “I didn’t realize that you would be joining us again so soon. I thought you were due to arrive next week.”

“I managed to wrap up my affairs in the Southern Isles quicker than I anticipated, sir.” It infuriated him, the way Hans never stopped with that glassy smile of his. “And, of course, I missed Princess Anna’s companionship. It’s always such a pleasure to be in her company.”

“It is.”

“I think it’s a testament to her character that she can still smile and be so pleasant after all she’s been through.” Hans pressed on. “After all you’ve both been through.”

“Oh?” Agnarr clasped his hands behind his back and looked out over the water, clenching his jaw. He was unclear on exactly how truthful an account Runeard had given Hans about Iduna and Elsa’s escape north. He knew Anna would never divulge anything. There was a long moment of silence.

“I must admit, I had hoped that she would be here when I returned.”

“I’m sure had we been given the correct date of your arrival, my daughter would have been here to greet you.”

“Does she speak of me?”

“To be honest, I haven’t seen much of her this summer.”

“Ah, yes. King Runeard mentioned she was out at the holiday property you built. The Sommerhus?” Hans grinned. “I’ll be riding there directly.”

Agnarr felt a chill that had nothing to do with the season cut through him. He forced a chuckle and shook his head. “Young man, you only just arrived and you’re already leaving? What will my father think? It’s an insult.”

“It was his idea!” Hans replied lightly. “I had thought to stay, at least to take dinner, but he insisted that I should go and surprise her instead of sending a messenger and escort.” He shrugged. “I was going to bring one of my own men, along with the escort. For propriety’s sake, of course.”

Agnarr sighed and shook his head slowly, mind racing. Hans frowned.

“What? You couldn’t possibly find that plan lacking to safeguard Anna’s virtue.”

“Hans, it’s not that.” Agnarr crossed his arms and leaned back against the low stone wall. “You’ve seen the Sommerhus before?”

“Yes,” he replied uncertainly. “Once when we rode past.”

“Do you recall that it was rather in a state of disrepair?”

“It did seem – that is to say-“ Agnarr laughed at Hans’ attempt to avoid offense.

“It was neglected. You can say it. To call it ramshackle would be generous. You didn’t think it odd that the king would let her stay in such accommodations?”

“Well, I-“

“You’ll forgive the king, of course. I have no doubt that my father only intended to hasten your reunion, but in his excitement I think he failed to consider Anna’s feelings.”

“Her feelings?”

“She’s been overseeing repairs to the property. She hopes to present it to you as a surprise gift for your wedding.” He waved a hand. “You know how women can be with their little ways. It might seem silly to us, but she would be devastated if the surprise were to be spoiled. For example, if you were to suddenly ride up and see the improvements she’s made.”

“A wedding gift?” Hans rubbed the back of his neck and considered it for a moment. A slow smile began to spread across his face. “That’s thoughtful of her.”

“She’s a thoughtful girl,” Agnarr said and clapped the boy on the arm. “So if you’ll forgive a father for wanting his daughter to believe her well-intentioned subterfuge was successful, I’d ask you to consider just letting a messenger ride out tomorrow.”

“Oh, but I could still dispatch a rider today. She would be home shortly after we take dinner, wouldn’t she?”

Agnarr rubbed his chin, suppressing his mounting sense of dismay. “I suppose.”

Hans grinned once more. His teeth gleamed. “I’ll speak with the King then. And perhaps you would join us as well? With His Majesty’s permission. I don’t mean to be impertinent, but I believe this might be the longest conversation that we’ve had.”

“I believe you’re correct.”

“And since we’ll be family soon, perhaps we should speak more often. And at greater length. I’m certain there’s much you could teach me about Arendelle.”

That was interesting. Hans had never tried to ingratiate himself to Agnarr before, although he supposed there hadn’t been ample opportunity to do so. He laughed and shook his head.

“I’m sure between my father and daughter you’ve received quite an education on Arendelle. But, yes, we’ll be family.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and frowned. “Oh. Oh my.” He glanced back across the square as he rummaged in his pocket.

“Is something wrong?”

“I left my pocket watch at Hudson’s Hearth.” He sighed, clasping his fingers around the cold metal of his timepiece. “Sergeant Kornhonen!” He called at the man, as he hovered discreetly at the edge of earshot. His guard hurried up. “I’m terribly sorry, I left my watch behind. We’ll have to go back for it.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” He bowed his head. “Um, if it’s not too bold, Your Highness, Prince Hans, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, it’s only-“

“Spit it out, man!” Hans snapped. 

Sergeant Kornhonen raised an eyebrow and looked to Agnarr for permission to continue.

“Uh, Miss Cecilia is visiting her parents today. If you didn’t want to spoil things for Princess Anna, maybe she could go and fetch her back. Then it’d also be a surprise to see you, Prince Hans. A royal messenger would be a dead giveaway something was afoot. But Miss Cecilia is her friend and is almost always out there anyway. And if we’re heading back there anyway, it’d be too easy to ask her.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose on-“

“I doubt Cecilia would find it an imposition,” Agnarr said as evenly as possible. “She’d be thrilled to help you surprise Anna! And if Sergeant Kornhonen and I approach her, then there’s no reason for anyone to suspect you know anything about the Sommerhus and Anna’s surprise for you.”

Hans nodded slowly. “Perhaps you’re right. I’ll leave you to your business then and speak with King Runeard about this evening’s meal.” He bowed to Agnarr. “Thank you, sir, for your help.”

“Anything for my daughter.”

* * * * *

Kristoff was restless. 

He found himself wandering Arendelle’s streets and the woods by the fjord in the small hours of the morning, when the world was silent. Usually, by this point in the season, he had already helped establish a base camp or two, several supply drops and completed at least one trade run to Arendelle. The other ice harvesters hadn’t asked many questions once he made it clear that he had no wish to answer them. He only muttered something about trouble that his knee was giving him and drank his beer.

He wished Anna would let him steal her away.

Her father did too.

“Anna can be stubborn.” Prince Agnarr told him shortly after they had avoided Hans riding out to the Sommerhus. He had taken great pains to make Kristoff understand that catastrophe had only been avoided through dumb luck. “And I know that she’s only remaining because she’s worried about my safety. But if things get too desperate – too dangerous – you must swear that you’ll take her and get her away from here.”

“My family in the mountains can protect us.” Kristoff assured him. There was a great deal left unspoken between them. He understood what the man was asking him to do and what the consequences would be. The Crown Prince was entirely unconcerned with his personal well-being if it meant Anna was safe and Kristoff respected that. The least he could do as a husband was promise him to protect and care for his daughter.

“My wife used to say the same thing about her family in the north.” Agnarr smiled sadly. “She thought I didn’t know, but she talked to her mother about going to the forest if the girls were ever in danger. I should have listened. If I had listened, we’d still be together.” He sighed. “But I waited too long.”

Kristoff hadn’t known how to respond to that.

It was difficult, but not impossible, to sneak into the castle. He managed to find his way to Anna more frequently after the first snows fell and fewer sentries were posted to guard the icy outer walls. Compared to an unforgiving mountain face, the walls were laughably easy. All Anna had to do was lock her door and unlock the window. He didn’t mind the risk. It was worth it to spend his nights with her in his arms.

She had become increasingly frantic in their lovemaking, though he tried to calm her. To reassure her that things would be fine. That they would be fine. Even without a baby, she didn’t have to marry Hans. To remind her, one more, that they could leave.

“My father would never abandon Arendelle and I will never abandon my father.” There was iron in her voice that kept him from suggesting it ever again. Even if he thought about it frequently.

Kristoff did what he could during the days so he could spend his nights with her. He had never enjoyed spending too much time in the town proper. He had endured the crowds and the noise for Anna, but now with Hans parading her about on his arm in the Market Square, it was unbearable. Anna had also warned him not to come to Hans’ attention. Apparently, he had already gotten Runeard to dismiss a young man from the staff for ‘smiling too much’ in the presence of the princess. And although she hadn’t been able to prove it, she was certain that Hans had also had one or two of the young tradesmen in town arrested and imprisoned for ‘being too familiar’.

So he avoided the town as much as he could. He took Sven on long rides into the woods. When it rained, he took refuge in Hudson’s Hearth and, if it was empty, spoke at length with Cecilia and Halima. When the other harvesters returned to town, he pitched in to help them unload the massive ice blocks at the warehouse. He found day jobs on the farms. He carried kegs of beer from the port to various taverns. He stayed busy. And with each passing day, December drew nearer.

* * * * *

“Anna!” She startled at her grandfather’s voice, but managed to smile widely as he entered the library. “Is this where you’ve been hiding?”

“Hiding?” She laughed. “Hans and I spent all morning entertaining the trade delegation from Zeeland. We took them to the wharf and introduced them to the fishing fleet captain. I only just finished the luncheon.”

“Not from them, not from them,” Runeard said with a grin as he sat in the stuffed chair across from her and patted her on the knee. “Hiding from me! I feel I’ve hardly seen you this past month. You know you’re my favorite person. I had hoped that your young man wouldn’t entirely steal your attention.”

“Grandfather.” She placed her hand over his. “Hans could never replace you in my heart.”

“Hhmph.” Runeard leaned back in the chair, drumming his fingers against the arm. “You say that, but he certainly seems to be occupying all of your time. Perhaps I should have listened to you about delaying the wedding if only so I could enjoy your company a little longer.”

Anna felt a thrill run through her. “Would you want to delay the wedding until-“

“No, no.” He waved a hand. “I would never delay your happiness. I’m only grumbling.” Her heart sank. “You’re a young woman and deserve a family of your own. But I do hope you’ll make time for an old man.”

She forced a smile. “Of course. How have you been, grandfather?”

“I’m well, Anna.” He frowned. “But how are you doing? You seem tired lately. A little wan. Are you in good health?”

She blinked and cocked her head. She had been feeling a little fatigued but was surprised that Runeard had noticed. She had chalked it up to her late-night activities with Kristoff. And those were well-worth feeling a little tired by mid-day. “I feel just fine.”

“You’re certain? You haven’t been working too hard between your summer project and the wedding preparations?”

“I’m certain. Have I seemed tired? I don’t feel it.”

“Ah, well, Hans was just saying how he was worried for you.” Runeard shrugged. “I believe his mother became rather delicate after all the births she went through. He’s probably over-concerned. You’ve always been a late riser. I told him you’re perfectly healthy.”

“I am.” She smiled and dug her nails into the palm of her hand. “We go out walking frequently. I’ve never had trouble keeping pace with him. I’m terribly sorry to have made him worry. I didn’t know it was troubling him.”

“He only wants what’s best for you. We thought perhaps it would be best to keep you here at the castle.” She felt the color drain from her face. Runeard patted her hand. “Only until you’re married, my dear. The boy might be a bit paranoid about your health, but his heart is in the right place.”

“Grandfather – but – I don’t-“

“Anna,” he said with a note of warning in his voice. “If you want to make me happy, you’ll do this for me. It’s only for a few weeks, it’s not forever. It’s not an unreasonable request. And it’s such a small concession, but will go a long way to showing Hans that you’ll be an agreeable wife. I know sometimes I made rather silly requests of your grandmother, but she never complained and it always made me feel better when she’d indulge me.” He was watching her carefully, so she dropped her eyes and nodded.

“Of course, Grandfather. If you think it’s best.”

It wasn’t the end of the world. Cecilia visited her every day and Kristoff came almost every night. Hans occupied less and less of her time as he spent more of his trying to ingratiate himself with her grandfather. But as the frost became a permanent feature on the windowpanes, Anna began to feel tired to her bones. She would have dozed off at a small council meeting if her father hadn’t tapped his boot against the bony part of her ankle under the table. True, it was almost the darkest part of the year, but she had never felt so worn out before.

Then came the sickness.

Her stomach had twisted violently enough to wake her from her dreams. She lurched from her bed to a wash basin and wretched up the sour contents of her stomach. Groaning, she turned and saw that Kristoff had already stolen away. He always left long before the castle staff began their early morning routines. She panted miserably in the stillness of her room before spitting into the basin and staggering to a pitcher of water that was on her nightstand. She felt dizzy as she washed her mouth out.

She caught sight of her pale face in the gloom of the mirror. She froze. With shaky hands she ticked off the weeks on her fingers since her last monthly. She hadn’t dared to keep a record, lest a servant find it, but it had to have been at least seven weeks. Possibly a bit longer. She gripped her stomach tightly and collapsed on the mattress, a wild grin on her face.

They were going to have a baby.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you, Fericita, for dragging my ass closer towards the finish line on all of this.

Iduna was bent over the cooking fire, preparing a fish for dinner, when she heard Yelana approaching. She took a long, slow breath and wiped her hands on her coat as she stood to greet her.

“Has your daughter told you what she saw in Ahtohallan?”

“Hello, Yelana, how is your day going?”

“I’ve been with Destin. He’s taking some of the others and going to the border to see if our defenses need work. He doesn’t want to rely on the Earth Giants if things happen suddenly.”

“Yes, Elsa mentioned that. She also said she was worried you didn’t quite understand that she doesn’t deal in prophecies and she has no idea when or if the mist will ever come down.”

Yelana shrugged. “She saw it come down. It’s bound to happen eventually.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen soon.” Iduna frowned. “The only thing that Elsa said she’s certain of is that Anna needs to be a part of it. That she can’t do it alone.”

“Anna.” Yelana snorted. “From what you’ve all told me, she seems intent on getting herself executed by Runeard going behind his back and getting married-“

“Yelana!” Iduna stopped mid-step as her mother’s voice rang in her ears. She hadn’t realized she had even moved towards the Chief Elder until she stopped mid-lunge. Yelana stared at her impassively as her mother walked toward them. “Anna is as much my granddaughter as Elsa. I’ll ask that you choose your words carefully when you speak of her.”

Yelana sighed. “My apologies, Seita. I meant no disrespect. Only . . .what if . . .what happens if she dies? I’d never wish it on the girl, but the man is a vindictive, violent bastard. Can Elsa bring the mist down on her own?”

“She doesn’t know.” Iduna grit her teeth. “And do not ask her. It was bad enough for her when my father was killed. When she was shown how Runeard punished Agnarr.” She hated how her voice shook. “She doesn’t need anything else on her conscience. Especially not something that hasn’t happened. That won’t happen.” She looked away as her mother fixed her with a sympathetic gaze. 

Worrying was useless. Anna had wed the young man – Kristoff, Elsa had called him – and that was all there was to it. And she had looked so happy. So happy. And Agnarr had looked so happy. They both deserved some happiness. If Anna felt it was worth risking Runeard’s wrath, so be it. Although, she privately hoped this was a prelude to a coup or an assassination even if she couldn’t imagine her daughter doing such a thing.

After a moment of silence, Yelana pressed on. “But if-“

“That man will never hurt another member of my family, Yelana.” Iduna’s head snapped up. Her mother rarely spoke so forcefully. Yelana’s eyes widened. “End of discussion.” 

Iduna exchanged a glance with Yelana and bit her lip. Yelana relaxed her posture. 

“Of course, Seita. Again, I meant no disrespect.”

* * * * *

“If it’s a girl, I want to name her after my sister,” Anna murmured as she curled into Kristoff. She could feel his smile against the back of her neck and his chuckle reverberated through her.

“And if it’s a boy?”

“I don’t know. Arne? That was my great-grandfather’s name.” She basked in her husband’s heavy warmth. Here, tucked safely in her bed, wrapped in his arms and thick blankets, she could almost forget the risks she was taking. “Are there any family names you wanted to pass on?”

“No,” Kristoff said and squeezed her. He had not stopped touching her since she had told him the news. Usually, by this hour, she had fallen asleep and he had stolen away. “But once she’s old enough, I’d like to take her to my cabin up north.”

“You want to take the baby there? I haven’t even been there!”

“You can come too. I don’t want her crying for Mama the whole time.” She smacked his arm lightly and he laughed. They lapsed into a comfortable silence. He traced light circles against her abdomen with his thumb. She had almost dozed off when he spoke again. “Are you going to tell your father?”

Anna winced and clenched her fists. “No, not yet. I don’t want him to worry.”

“I think he’s going to worry about you anyway, Anna.”

“I know.” She reached out to lace her fingers into his. “But this would only make it worse. He’s not just worried. He’s afraid. When everything happened with mother and Elsa – when we were separated . . . I just don’t want to tell him yet.”

“And the king?”

“I don’t know,” she said softly and shivered. “Did I ever tell you how he reacted when he found out Elsa used her magic?”

“Only that he was angry.”

“Kristoff.” She shook her head slowly and shut her eyes. “He was murderous. Mother and Father used to warn me not to tell him about Elsa’s powers because he might kill her. But I didn’t believe them. He was always so kind to me. But the night that they fled – I believed it. And I believe it now.”

He sighed and rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry.”

“I just – I know I kept telling Father that he wouldn’t hurt me. That he wouldn’t hurt our baby. But now . . .now I just keep thinking about the look in his eyes when he was shouting how he’d execute mother.”

“Do you think he would do that to you?” Kristoff’s voice was low and tight.

“No. No, he wouldn’t have me killed. But Father said he was worried about the baby.” Anna gave a humorless laugh. “Grandfather needs me alive. Without me his line doesn’t have a future.” She turned over and buried her face in his chest. “I was thinking of telling him just before the Yule Bell is rung. For the past few years, he’s had Father and me meet him in his office. Then we all walk out together. He won’t make a public scene.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes. It’s always been important to him to keep up appearances. If I tell him, he’ll have to control his temper enough to at least ring the bell and smile and wave. That would give me half an hour at least to figure out if he’s dangerous or not.”

“Anna, I know that you don’t want to leave, but this baby is mine too. If either of you are in danger, I can’t just stand by and do nothing.” Kristoff stroked her hair. “I’ll be in the castle. There’s always a need for ice deliveries whenever your Grandfather holds a holiday event. It won’t matter if Hans sees me at that point. If I can’t be with you when you tell Runeard, I can at least be close by in case he doesn’t take the news well.”

She opened her mouth to protest but couldn’t force the words. She closed her mouth and swallowed hard. She wanted him close to her. He made her feel safe. God forbid, if anything happened, he would be there. He could help. She brought his hand to her mouth and kissed it. “Thank you.”

* * * * *

Elsa chewed on her lip as she watched the scene play out in the snow. Destin stood next to her, staring studiously at his boots. His cheeks were rather flushed. Normally, she would tease him for his discomfort given all the places she had stumbled upon him and Kaija during their courtship, but this was serious. She waved her hand and her sister and brother-in-law vanished. Destin managed a shaky grin and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Thanks. I know it’s stupid, but it’s strange to see Anna like that. I still remember her mostly as a little kid.”

“At least they were covered up this time.” Elsa watched with amusement as he turned even redder. Destin cleared his throat and kicked a stone.

“Yeah, well, thanks for that. Uh, the important thing is we know when Anna might tell Runeard, right? The Yule Bell is rung the same day every year. We might not know the exact date it is here, but we can guess close enough.” He sighed. “Too bad it isn’t on your birthday. The solstices are like clockwork. But still, it can’t be more than three weeks off.”

“Is that enough time?”

“It’ll have to be.” He smiled and gently nudged her with his elbow. “Besides, we’ve got you. Even if the Earth Giants don’t want to hang around the border, you can get there fast enough, right?” She shoved him away and he laughed.

“I still don’t know that anything is going to happen. The mist might not come down.”

“It might not. But if it does, we’ll be ready for it. There’s not a lot we can do to stop them at the border if Runeard decides to attack with the whole army, but that’s alright. We’ve been setting up a lot of fallback positions. The deeper we draw them in, the more we can rely on the spirits to help us.” He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Right?”

“Yes.” She nodded uneasily and hugged her arms against her side.

“The only problem is if they don’t make it to the mist. Or if they make it and the mist doesn’t come down. If we can’t get out, we can’t help them.” Destin said quietly. “Has Ahtohallan given any pointers on that?”

“No. Not really. All I know is that in the . . .the vision . . .when I touched the mist while Anna’s hand was raised against it, it flew apart.”

Destin nodded. “Then she’ll make it, Elsa. I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as Anna.” Elsa smiled. “Except maybe your mother.” She laughed. He smiled reassuringly. “I mean it. She’ll make it up here.”

“Thank you.”

“Have you told your mother?”

“No, not yet. Honeymaren told me that Ryder overhead her, Grandma and Yelana in some kind of shouting match about whether or not Runeard would kill Anna over the marriage. I don’t want to tell them she’s pregnant. I can’t imagine how worried they’d be.”

Destin looked as though he was about to disagree with her, but instead he shrugged and shook his head. “It’s up to you. If you think that’s best, then it’s best. What do you want me to tell them? When they ask what we talked about and why I’m so sure something might happen around the Yule Bell?”

“I’ll talk to them, Destin. I’ll tell them Ahtohallan gave me a vision of the bell being rung. That it has something to do with the mist coming down. Maybe. Who knows?”

“Shouldn’t Ahtohallan know?” Destin teased.

“It might, but I’m not an enchanted glacier.” Elsa said wryly. “I’m just a glorified interpreter. And Ahtohallan and the spirits can be annoyingly vague at times. But given what I know of Grandfather and Anna . . .I think she’s going to tell him before the bell is rung. We used to do that as a family. We’d all ring it together. She probably figures if it’s public, he won’t be able to overreact.”

“She thinks wrong.” Destin snorted. “I remember him going nuts yelling at soldier in front of formation once.” He caught himself and glanced at her nervously. “Uh, not to say he’ll do anything to her.”

“He won’t kill her.” Elsa said firmly. “He won’t. Anna is right. He needs her. He has this whole thing about ‘your body belongs to the crown’ when it comes to the women in my family. Runeard is fixated on continuing the line of succession. He would do almost anything for a male heir. But he could try to force her to lose the baby. And Anna would never stand for that.”

“So what does that mean?”

“They’ll either kill Runeard or try to escape. And if they try to escape, I think they’ll somehow make their way here. And they’ll have my Grandfather and the whole of the Arendelle army at their backs.”

“Minus the Arendellian cadets up here with you.” Destin grinned. “And you wouldn’t even have to show them half of what you’ve shown us to convince the rest of the soldiers that Runeard is a power-hungry tyrant. Between that and the Earth Giants, I think we’ll be fine. Nobody wants to fight a walking mountain. Or fight for a war-mongerer.”

Elsa smiled. “I hope you’re right.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Fericita for her constant reassurance that I can not possibly make this story miserable and dark enough. And that Runeard truly is the worst.

Anna pressed against the cool stone of the kitchen storeroom. She had hoped that she would see Kristoff, but another man had brought in the daily ice delivery. The cold room was stocked with ice for the Yule Bell festivities the following day. The neatly stacked blocks went straight to the ceiling and her breath had hung in the air as she stole a handful of shavings to mix with maple syrup. Although her stomach had settled in the past week and her appetite was slowly returning, she still wasn’t able to hold down richer foods. The kitchen staff had been teasing her about her changing sweet tooth and sudden defection from chocolate treats, attributing it to nerves about her impending wedding and a desire to please her new husband with a comely shape.

The kitchens had the added benefit of being one of the last few places that she could hide from Hans. He had been hunting her down whenever he wasn’t in meetings with her grandfather. At first, it had merely been annoying as he interrupted her while she read in the library or tried to have tea with Cecilia. But as the days wore on, he had persistently managed to insert himself into nearly every social interaction she attempted. He was always smiling, always charming, always bringing her small gifts and inquiring about her day and how wedding preparations were going, but it had gotten to the point that the staff excused themselves as soon as they saw him coming. And perhaps it was because she was expecting, or because his interference made it more difficult to spend time with her husband, but she found herself losing her patience and her temper around him more and more.

He was also having her watched. She could feel it. Hans had returned from the Southern Isles with three dour looking fellows. A small cadre of trusted men for his personal staff, Grandfather had told her. As she moved through the halls, or went to the chapel, she could feel their eyes on her. 

She was being followed. 

They were unobtrusive, they never approached her, but they were always there. She had been thrilled a few days ago when Hans told her that two had taken ill and were now confined to bed. It afforded her a small measure of freedom, but still not enough to arrange a meeting with her father or safely pass him a note. He still had no idea that he was going to be a grandfather.

She smiled at the thought. She had hoped to tell him privately, not only so that he could be ready when she told Runeard that she was expecting, but because it would have been a nice moment. And there had been few enough of those since her mother and Elsa had been forced to run for their lives. After her small ceremony with Kristoff, Colonel Mattias had told her that he couldn’t remember when he had last seen her father look so happy. Anna drummed her fingers against her abdomen. Tomorrow, then. Tomorrow he would know. Surely, she could catch him for a moment before they met with Grandfather in his study.

“Have any of you seen Princess Anna?”

She groaned. Her brief respite from Hans was over.

“I’m back here,” she called, forcing herself to sound cheerful. They almost bumped into one another as she exited the storeroom, holding her wax paper full of ice chips up like a shield. 

“Oh, Anna!” He smiled. “We have plenty of people who can come down here and fetch things for you. You’re not a servant, after all.”

“I’m perfectly capable of getting myself a treat, Hans,” she said lightly. “And no one else ever adds as much syrup as I like.” 

He laughed at that and took the ice chips from her, handing it to a nearby kitchen boy.

“Just tell him when it’s enough. You shouldn’t be dirtying your hands down here.” 

“Hans.” Anna flushed as several of the cooks, scullery maids and other staff members exchanged glances. “Stop.”

He frowned and hooked her arm with his elbow, guiding her out of the kitchens. He spoke in a low voice as he led her back up the stairs. “Anna, it’s like I’ve been saying, you’re too familiar and informal with these people. It’s fine to be approachable and obviously you want your subjects to feel you’re interested in them, but this kind of behavior is unbecoming of a queen.”

“When I am the queen, Hans, who exactly is going to tell me it’s ‘unbecoming’?” She placed her hand on his bicep and pushed firmly, freeing her arm. “If I’m the queen, then it’s queenly behavior.”

“Even if it reflects poorly on your king?” He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t forget, your conduct comes back to me. If I’m not respected, it will make it hard to rule-“

“But you won’t be ruling, will you?” She snapped. “I will. And you would be my consort. I’ve read the marriage contract.”

He flinched and his eyes went chillingly cold for a moment before he assumed a mask of contrition. “You didn’t let me finish. Before I rule when you are otherwise indisposed. Of course, Anna, you will rule your land. But sometimes – when in childbed, for instance-“

“Thank you for your concern, Hans, but as I’ve told you repeatedly, this is how things are done in Arendelle. Even Grandfather knows every member of the staff by name. Every member of the castle guard’s family members and half their birthdays.” She marched off down the hall.

“I had hoped we would dine together!” He called after her.

“I’m not feeling well and I would like to lie down in my room.” She did not turn as she responded. Her room had become her refuge from Hans and his cronies. True, he thought they would be wed in less than a month, but Hans would not risk insulting Runeard by being caught in Anna’s private chambers. She heard him sigh behind her.

Nonetheless, she locked the door.

Kristoff did not come that night.

Later, she would tell herself it was her fear over his absence, what it might mean, and her frazzled nerves from being constantly hounded through the halls of her own home, that drove her to such a mad act the following morning.

* * * * *

Elsa walked briskly along the trail back to the village, hoping to avoid Yelana and her endless questions. Destin had been wonderful about intercepting the Chief Elder and distracting her while they went about preparing their defenses, but she always wanted more information than Elsa was able to give her. She wanted to know why Elsa, why Ahtohallan, after years of uncertainty was so insistent that something was about to happen. She didn’t believe that it was ‘just a hunch’.

“Elsa?” She jumped before realizing it was only her mother. She turned and waved as her mother approached, slogging through the mid-afternoon snow drifts that had been blown onto the path. “Were you down at the border?”

“I was helping Destin.”

“I see.” Iduna’s voice was quiet. “Do you really think the mist might come down?”

“I don’t know. But it might. I have a feeling something might happen.” Elsa rubbed her thumb against her palm. “I know Yelana-“

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, darling. Yelana is just worried about raising false hope after so many years of nothing happening. Your grandma and I told her to silence herself.” They shared a smile. “She means well, Yelana does. But she should respect your space.”

“Thank you.” Elsa watched as her mother seemed to struggle to say something. “What is it?”

“They’re . . .” Her words trailed off as she clasped her hands. When she looked back up, Elsa was surprised to see that her eyes were wet. “They’re safe, aren’t they?” Elsa’s heart dropped at her mother’s tremulous voice. “You would tell me if they weren’t?”

_Of course not_ , she thought. Memories of when her mother had shut herself away, stopped eating, stopped drinking, after the mist first came down flooded her mind. But she tried to smile reassuringly.

“Mother, if anything like that were happening, I would-“

She was interrupted by a whistling blast of icy wind that whipped between the trees and carried several ephemeral voices on it. Iduna staggered over to her and they clutched at one another as the shimmering blue and white crystals carried in the air swirled and solidified, forming into the figure of Anna as she stormed away from –

“Hans!” Elsa gasped. Ahtohallan had not shown him to her in quite some time.

“-leave me in peace!” Anna was saying as she waved a dismissive hand. She looked angry. Undeterred, Hans followed her. It was impossible to tell where they were, but given their lack of coats, Elsa assumed they were inside the castle. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk at the banquet!”

“Anna, I know that we quarreled yesterday, but that’s no reason to –“

“Hans, I want you to go!” He lunged suddenly and grabbed her by the arm.

“This is no way to talk to your future husband!” He hissed. “Do you think just anyone would have you? The whole of Europe knows madness and dark magic runs in your veins. You should be grateful I was willing to look past it!”

“Get off of me!” She shouted and tore her arm from his grasp. They glared at one another, breathing heavily. Elsa felt her heart hammering in her chest.

“You will address me with the respect I deserve,” Hans said. “At New Years, when we’re married-“

“We’re not going to _be_ married, Hans!.” Anna spat, her face twisted with rage. Elsa felt her blood run cold. She knew her sister could be impulsive, but this was suicide. Her mother gripped her hand so tightly it hurt.

“No,” she breathed.

Hans was frowning as Anna bristled. “I’m pregnant, Hans.”

Next to her, Iduna let out a low, wounded moan. Elsa stared, slack jawed, as Hans’ eyes widened. A series of subtle changes rippled across his expression as he straightened up, regarding her sister as one would observe a beetle in a jar. His breathing evened out as he crossed his arms.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not. I’m at least two months along. Maybe three.” 

They stared at one another for several seconds. She could hear her mother’s frantic breathing. Then, much to Elsa’s shock, Hans shrugged.

“I don’t see why that would have any effect on us being married.”

“Wait, what?” Anna’s confusion was nearly palpable. “You know it’s not yours.”

“So? Frankly, I’m not quite as invested in the thought of heirs as your grandfather is.” Anna stared wordlessly at him as he smirked at her. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to let it be known I’m a cuckold. A cuckoo bird’s egg will never sit on the throne of Arendelle. But children fall ill or have accidents all the time, don’t they? Everyone said it was a miracle my brothers and I all survived to manhood.”

Hans stepped towards her and forced her chin up. “Far more important to me – now I know that you’re fertile. And, apparently, you know how to please a man. Honestly, that will make it more interesting than bedding some shy virgin.” Anna shuddered and took a quick step back.

“You-“

“Oh, Anna. Did you think this would drive me off? Really, I should be thanking you. How grateful is the king going to be when I still accept his ruined granddaughter as a bride? I have no doubt he’ll only be too happy to alter the marriage contract in exchange for my understanding of your indiscretion.” Elsa felt her chest tighten at the look of fear that was growing on her sister’s face. “I’ve always said you were too familiar with your subjects. And once I find out who you were too familiar with – and believe me, we’ll have plenty of time for that – I’ll be sure to set an example. Not for this.” He motioned at her abdomen. “Some other charge.”

“You won’t get away with this.”

Hans gave an ugly laugh. “Anna, I haven’t done anything to get away with. You were a fool.” He snapped his fingers and another man appeared, striding past where Elsa and Iduna stood. Hans motioned to Anna. “I want you to confine the Princess to the library until summoned. Lock the doors. Let no one in. And do not let her out of your sight.”

The man, whom Elsa did not recognize, nodded wordlessly and grabbed Anna by her forearm. Her sister struggled, but the man dragged her away as Hans watched impassively.

“Stop it! You’re hurting me!” Anna protested.

The figures collapsed and joined the snow drifts on the ground. Elsa and her mother stared at the spot until a soft breeze stirred the snowflakes once more.

“I’ll kill him,” her mother intoned dully as though she was unaware she was speaking.

“I need to go to Ahtohallan!” Elsa turned and gently took her mother’s hands. “Can you go and tell Destin that it might happen soon?”

“What might happen soon?” She said faintly.

“The mist, mother. Tell him that I think something is going to happen.”

“To Anna?”

“No!” She said fiercely. “I’m going to go and see what I can find out about Anna. Please, tell Destin to be ready. Tell him to have everyone ready.” She studied her mother’s face. “Can you do that?” 

Her mother’s eyes suddenly focused and went hard. Her mouth tightened and she nodded sharply. “Yes. Do what you need to do. I’ll go tell Destin.” Elsa hurried off to summon Nokk.

* * * * *

Hans’ goon hadn’t said more than five words to Anna the entire time he watched her.

“Sit down.”

“Be silent.”

“Move.”

She had expected her Grandfather to come. She had not expected the Royal Physician. He was an older man who had tended kindly to her since childhood. There hadn’t been a fever or minor stomach affliction he hadn’t treated. Now, his face had a sheen of unhealthy sweat and he looked as though he desperately wished to be anywhere but in this room. He gripped his bag tightly and glanced at her guard.

“I – I will require privacy while I speak to the Princess and examine her.”

“Prince Hans told me not to leave.”

“You may wait just outside the door. There’s no other way out of the room.” The Royal Physician frowned. “This is already unorthodox enough, young man. I will not tolerate a voyeur during all of this.” 

Anna remained silent as the pair glared at one another, but the goon scowled and left the room. The Royal Physician sighed and mopped his brow with a handkerchief. He fixed her with a sympathetic look.

“Princess Anna.” He coughed. “Do you know why your Grandfather has sent me?” Anna bit her lip and lowered her eyes to the ground. After a few moments of silence, he continued. “Your fiancé has . . .made some rather indelicate and scandalous claims.”

“I told him I was expecting,” she said as she looked up. She watched the color drain from the doctor’s face. “I am expecting. A baby. It’s not his.”

He stared at her as the clock in the room ticked away into the void between them.

Finally, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I see.” He sucked his teeth. “Well. King Runeard has requested that I ascertain the validity of Prince Hans’ claims. Right now, he’s rather enraged with him. Might I beg your permission to examine you, Princess Anna?”

She granted her consent. 

At the end, he snapped his bag shut and bowed his head deferentially to her.

“A healthy pregnancy. Of course, this early on things – so many things can still go wrong. But a sure sign that you can conceive and carry well.” Before she could open her mouth to protest, the Royal Physician left and Hans’ goon entered. He glared at her meaningfully and jerked his head at the chair in which she had been sitting when he left. She felt her lip curl but forced herself to sit. She had already made her throat sore protesting earlier. And his grip was still stained on her arm in a series of ugly bruises.

She didn’t have to wait long before she was summoned to the study.

Hans was struggling and failing not to look smug, but Anna’s attention was focused on her Grandfather’s face. As she was marched closer to his desk and forced into a chair, she could see the vein pulsing in his left temple. The ripple of flesh at the back of his jaw where he was grinding his teeth. She had expected an apoplectic rage. Not this deafening silence and the glossy, cold-eyed expression with which he now regarded her. Anna gripped the seat cushion with one hand and protectively covered her abdomen with the other.

“I didn’t fucking believe him.” Runeard growled. “I didn’t fucking believe him and I nearly banished him from my kingdom.” His massive hands were balled against the top of the desk. “But you’re pregnant.”

“Grandfather, I-“

“What were you thinking?” He roared as he leapt to his feet and smashed his fist against the desk. Papers went flying and a pot of ink toppled over. Hans flinched and took a step away from the king. 

Anna opened her mouth to speak, but the words did not come. All of her father’s warnings and misgivings about her plan came rushing back. All of Kristoff’s quiet, but persistent, offers to take her away someplace safe echoed in her ears. She should have listened. She should have fled. The realization settled like ice in her chest with a crystal clarity. There was no way this was going to have a happy ending.

Runeard glared down at her before wiping some imagined lint from his chest and sitting back down. He folded his hands in front of him and studied her. When he continued, it was in a low, strained voice.

“You had one duty to Arendelle, Anna. One. One duty to the Crown. One duty to me. Provide a suitable heir so that our line, our family, our rule would continue. I have given you everything. And you have thrown it in my face.” He sneered. “Your mother’s traitorous blood coming out. Your father’s foolishness.” 

She felt a cold sweat dampen her shirt.

“Hans has been remarkably understanding about your utter lack of sense and your ingratitude. Perhaps a little too understanding.”

Hans eyes darted between Anna and the king. “Your Majesty, I only meant a silver lining could be found in-“

“It’s not his!” She managed to croak.

“I know it’s not his!” Runeard banged his fist once more. He cast Hans a sidelong glance. “And I have to question the ability of a man to rule who’s so comfortable with a bastard possibly inheriting the throne.” Hans swallowed. Runeard sighed. “But you’re young yet, Hans. Still soft. Perhaps as enchanted by my granddaughter as my son was with her mother. I’m going to do you a favor. I’m not going to let you make the mistake of misguided mercy.”

Anna gasped and felt the tears burn in her eyes. “Grandfather-“

“If you try to speak, I will have you gagged and then tossed into the dungeon. If that’s what it took to straighten your father out, I have no doubt it will work on you as well.” He said calmly. She clenched her jaw shut. “You’ve turned out to be a grave disappointment. The wedding will go on as planned after the New Year. I already have the Royal Physician making an elixir. It will be as though you are untouched. A suitable bride. Instead of the disgrace you are.”

Impossibly, there was a brisk knock on the door and Sergeant Kornhonen entered with his usual smile.

“Good day, Your Majesty, Your Highness! Sorry we’re a bit late –“ He fell silent as he looked at Anna. She could feel the tears scorching small tracks down her cheeks. She reached up to wipe her face and the Sergeant cocked his head. “Who did that to your wrist?”

Runeard caught sight of the bruises, rolled his eyes. He rubbed his forehead and scowled at Hans’ goon. “The girl weighs barely anything at all. You had to be that excessive?”

“Your Majesty, she-“

“Shut up. If the elixir fails and I need someone to shove her down the stairs, I suppose I know who I can count on.” Runeard sighed. Sergeant Kornhonen’s eyes flicked to meet Anna’s as his jaw went slack in surprise. There was another knock at the door and her father entered, his mild smile vanishing as soon as he saw her.

“What the hell is going on here?”

“Your daughter has violated her vows to Arendelle. She’s carrying a bastard.” Runeard growled. Her father went gray. Runeard snorted. “No idea again, hm? It’s amazing how blind you are to the women around you.” He waved a hand. “We’ll discuss this later.” He turned to Anna. “You will remain under guard until we return. You!” He jabbed a finger at Sergeant Kornhonen. “Will remain with her. Not you!” He glared at Hans’ goon as the man opened his mouth to protest.

“I don’t-“ Her father began.

“This is not a conversation we’re having, Agnarr. These are orders that you are following. Hans, you’ll come with us. Anna will stay here. She’s too overwhelmed by her impending nuptials for public appearances. Let’s go ring the damn bell and then we’ll discuss the edits to your marriage contract further.” He rose and strode quickly towards the door, grabbing her father by the arm and half-dragging him away. Hans flashed her a smirk before departing with his goon. The door slammed.

Sergeant Kornhonen stared at his feet for a moment before reaching into his jacket and fishing out a handkerchief. He handed it to her, not meeting her eyes.

“Thank you.” She sniffled.

“Your Highness,” he spoke softly, hesitantly. “Your Highness, are you safe?”

Anna looked up at him, more tears falling from her eyes as she admitted the truth.

“No.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Fericita for catching the continuity errors and making sure the pacing stays in the moment. I’d be hosed without you!

It was as though the Nokk sensed Elsa’s turmoil. It had reared, unbidden, from the first shallow creek bed she stumbled across, tossing its mane with a silent whinny. Almost as soon as she had mounted it, freezing its form enough so that she could cross the forest on its back, they were bolting through the trees. Gale whistled at her back and across her ears, driving them forward and clearing a path. In all of her years of riding the Water Spirit, racing it in the lichen meadows against the reindeer herders, she could not remember flying over the landscape quite as fast as they did now.

The snowy landscape was a blur of shimmering flurries. All that had come into focus beyond the horizon were several Earth Giants who were lumbering south. They paused, bewildered, as she flew past. Elsa had no idea what was about to happen, but she hoped they would be with Destin and the others when it occurred. She wondered if anyone would tell Honeymaren where she had gone. If her grandma was with her mother by now.

But mostly, she prayed under her breath that Anna was safe. 

It could be a lonely thing, being the Fifth Spirit. No matter how many times she told the Northuldra that she didn’t have all of the answers, that she certainly couldn’t tell the future or what would become of them, she couldn’t help but be painfully aware of the faith they had in her. It would be nice if she could place her faith in some kind of higher power. Though her father and the court had instilled a thorough understanding of Lutheranism as a child, she hadn’t prayed to that God in years.

Panic and uncertainty coursed through her veins. What if that man hurt Anna? What if Runeard killed her? What if Anna was already at the Mist, being chased by those who would harm her, while Elsa was riding further away by the second? She could feel her powers surging and flowing within, crackling like electricity along her skin. So close to the Dark Sea, with the winter drifts already as high as three men, it was hard to tell which of the snowy gusts were from her and which were merely the bitter weather.

Her heart nearly stopped as Nokk leapt from the cliffs and into the ocean waters. Not from the leap. They had done that countless times before. Honeymaren had smacked her in the head the first time she witnessed it before finally conceding that it was probably safe. No, what took her breath away was the unprecedented sight of the Dark Sea utterly becalmed. Usually, Nokk ran over large waves that crashed around them as they made their way across the waters. Now, it was smooth as glass. Nokk’s hooves crackled against the thin film of ice that turned the surface into a black looking glass. Only in this calm, could Elsa witness her panic as it billowed away in snowy gusts.

It had to be an omen. The spirits were never subtle.

The Northern Lights shone over Ahtohallan as it came into view.

Nokk came to a stop near the entrance, panting heavily. Elsa gave him a grateful pat on the neck as she slid off his back and sprinted inside. She ran desperately through the smooth, shining halls until she tripped and fell to her knees in the vast cavern that held the memories. She drove her hands into the snow.

“Please,” she gasped. She could feel hot tears trailing down her cheeks. “Please! Was the Yule Bell already rung?”

The familiar entrance to the castle sprang up from the ground before her, the wooden columns and the stairs exactly as she remembered them. Elsa looked up from where she knelt prostate on the ground at the three figures before her. Runeard, his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed, arm raised above his head. Hans with a beatific smile as he waved enthusiastically.

And Father, who looked half-stunned as he stared at his feet with his hands fisted at his sides.

“Anna?” She whispered. “Where’s Anna?” Elsa began to rise when Father’s head suddenly snapped up and, for a moment, it seemed like he was looking right at her, eyes suddenly focused and ablaze. She watched wordlessly as he turned, shoved Hans so roughly that he stumbled down the stairs, then lashed out with a blow that caught Runeard in the temple. The king staggered before doubling over as Father buried his fist into Runeard’s gut. He turned towards Elsa.

“My wife is not an Enchantress! And my daughter Elsa is not a weather witch! King Runeard has been lying to you! And he intends to cede Arendelle’s authority to that interloper!” Father turned and sneered at Hans, who was struggling to get back on his feet and looked murderous. “He has imprisoned Anna and intends to strip her of her right to rule as Queen! He will-”

“No!” Elsa screamed as several soldiers tackled her Father. Three wrestled him to the ground as another forced a gag into his mouth. Still, others bound his arms behind his back. As one stood over her father’s prone, yet struggling form, raising the butt of his rifle as though he were preparing for a blow to the back of the head, the snow figures collapsed. Elsa gripped the snow harder, willing more to appear before her, and Anna and Kristoff rose from the glittering heap of snow. Elsa thought she might weep in relief. They seemed to be riding together on the back of a reindeer. Kristoff held her sister tightly. Both of their eyes were screwed shut as they kept their hands in front of their faces.

“This storm is going to slow us down!” Kristoff bellowed.

“It will slow Grandfather’s men down too!” Anna yelled back. “They weren’t far behind us when this hit!”

“Still! We’re not going to make it to the trolls before they catch us! We can push north to my cabin! Maybe we can lose them!”

“And if we don’t?”

“We keep pushing north!”

Elsa’s eyes went wide.

She was gone before Ahtohallan even dissolved the scene.

* * * * *

Kristoff waited for Anna in her room that morning, hiding in her dressing room while several maids flitted about, preparing her things for the ringing of the Yule Bell. He hoped to speak with her, to comfort her, before she went to talk with Runeard. He would be front and center when the bell was rung. And if Anna gave him the slightest signal that something was wrong, he would get her out. One way or another.

But Anna had not returned to her room after breakfast.

It was nearly lunch when the maids returned, confused as to why the King would confine the Princess to the library so close to the ceremony. How could they be expected to dress her for the banquet in time if she was not allowed to return to her room? Ear pressed to the door, Kristoff’s stomach churned and a sour taste rose in his mouth.

Something was wrong.

He racked his brain as he listened to the maids lay out Anna’s hair ribbons should she need to be made presentable at the last minute. There was no safe way to scale the castle roof to the library window, but if he climbed back down he could make his way to the kitchens. They knew him. It would be easy enough to claim he had to deliver an ice sculpture to another part of the castle. After a few minutes, the room went silent and he heard the door close and the lock rattle into place.

He moved quickly, only pausing to peek out the window and ensure that the townspeople hadn’t started to filter into the courtyard and he still had time to climb out the window without being spotted. Once in the cold room, he grabbed a likeness of the royal sigil painstakingly carved into a flawless block of ice and made his way upstairs. The halls were still full of staff, visiting dignitaries and guests for the banquet. When a portly butler stopped and asked where he was headed, he mumbled something about the ‘cigar room’ and was waved on his way.

“You should hurry if you want to see the bell. Only ten or so minutes now.”

“Yes, thank you.”

He found the library abandoned.

Kristoff swore. He bit his lip and thought of where else she might be.

_Runeard._

Anna had to be with him. Surely, someone would have said something if she had already been sent to the dungeon. He couldn’t imagine that the staff or her maids or her father wouldn’t be in an unholy uproar if she were in a cell. No, she must be with the king. Holding the ice sculpture like a shield before him, Kristoff made his way along the corridor that led to the main hall. Perhaps he should have just gone back to the courtyard and waited. Maybe Runeard was going to bring her out the bell and –

He pressed against the wall, trying to hide behind a suit of armor as three men passed by the end of the hall. There was Hans, walking briskly and looking more insufferably smug than usual. Runeard, whose face looked like thunder as he half-dragged – Prince Agnarr. Who looked as though he had retreated into some internal hell inside his head. 

“We’ll make this quick. Ring the bell. Wave. Smile. Extend our apologies to the banquet guests and let them start without us.” Runeard spoke in a low voice. “I want this handled now.” 

Anna was not with them. Kristoff held his breath as they walked on, not ten feet from him, stomping down the stairway that would lead them to the courtyard. He turned and headed the way that they had come from. He glanced at the doors that lined the hall, unfamiliar with this part of the castle. He supposed he could try them until –

“Anna!” He gasped as a door flew open and Anna stood there, looking nearly as shocked as he was. She looked as though she had been crying, but before he could ask what had happened she leapt at him, throwing her arms around him. He nearly dropped the ice sculpture onto her foot, but managed to hang on to it.

“Kristoff!”

“Kristoff?” He looked over her head to see a confused guard staring at him slack-jawed. “Your Highness, who’s this?” Kristoff started. He had seen this one before. Following Anna’s father almost everywhere. He tensed, but Anna turned and placed a restraining hand on his arm.

“Sergeant Kornhonen, this is Kristoff. He can take me somewhere safe.” She pulled Kristoff inside the study and shut the door. He grunted as he hefted the ice sculpture onto a table. The sergeant eyed him warily. 

“Anna!” He caught sight of the bruises on her arm. They were shaped like fingerprints. Large fingerprints. He frowned. “Who did that to you?” He glared at the sergeant.

“Not me!” The man protested indignantly.

“It was one of Hans’ goons, Kristoff. Sergeant Kornhonen was about to help me try to slip out one of the back passages. To make a run to Hudson’s Hearth.”

“But the courtyard is full of people.”

“This one leads out under the courtyard,” the sergeant said. “It’ll bring someone out near those woods by the fjord. Same one as . . .” The man trailed off, blushed, and scuffed the toe of his boot. “Well. Your mother and sister. They must have used it. King Runeard had the panel sealed, but a large enough man could pull it away with some effort.”

“Thank you,” Anna squeezed the man’s hand. “Will you still come with us?”

“Your Highness, if this man can get you someplace safe, I’d rather you just bash the back of my head in. Knock me out. No offense. My wife and children are still here. And if the King is threatening you then-“

“I understand.” Anna said calmly. She turned, hands folded in front of her skirts. “Kristoff?”

Sergeant Kornhonen turned his back to Kristoff and Kristoff took it for the invitation it was. He lifted the ice sculpture once more, aimed carefully, and brought it down. The solider crumpled to the floor and Anna winced, burrowing her head into his shoulder. He put his hand on her back and felt as she took a deep breath.

Anna knew exactly where the secret passage had been, but between some kind of uproar in the courtyard that brought the staff running and having to hide from other people in the halls while collecting Anna’s traveling clothes, it took too long to get there. By the time he had the panel off the wall, there were distant cries from within the castle. They had run as fast as they could through the passage, thick with cobwebs, and been half blinded in the light of the sun when they emerged in the snowdrifts near the trees.

It was not how he had hoped to leave Arendelle. There had been no time to prepare for their flight. No time to reach the cache of supplies he had stashed outside the city limits the previous day for a situation just like this. He had been lucky that he had tethered Sven near the castle. By the time they were half way up the hill, he could see riders emerging from the castle gates.

Kristoff could no longer feel his hands within his thick gloves, but that hardly mattered as they had frozen to Sven’s harness. He did his best to keep his arms steady as they struggled through the storm. He had survived any number of blizzards in his life, but never while on the run and never with a wife who was carrying his child. And this was an exceptionally brutal storm. 

He wasn’t sure where they were heading or if they were going to make it.

* * * * *

Runeard kept his chin tightly tucked against his chest as his horse struggled through the violence of the sleet and snow that whipped against them. It was as though the blizzard were deliberately trying to batter them back to Arendelle through the naked vengeance of nature. The trees moaned as their frozen trunks quavered against the gusts and their branches crackled as they were blown away. From somewhere behind him, shouting to be heard over the raging wind, Hans was asking if they should turn back. Continue the search when the weather calmed. Runeard ignored him and spurred on his mount through the drifts.

At least the cold numbed the pain in his head. Who would have thought that Agnarr had any fight left in him at all after all these years? Damnable brat. The oblivious fool had clearly been unaware of his own daughter’s state of disgrace. Runeard hadn’t anticipated that Agnarr would react so quickly. It wasn’t as though he and Anna were even that close. Fine. Let him rot in the dungeon until he could be shipped off to an asylum this time

The king’s personal guard, who rode with him now through the maelstrom, had not been gentle as they dragged Agnarr away. The crowd had started to protest and Runeard ordered that the castle courtyard be cleared and the gates locked. By the time his men returned from the dungeon, he and Hans had returned to his study and his granddaughter was gone. And that incompetent Sergeant who had been tasked with guarding her had been laid out flat by an unknown assailant with a large and bloody lump on the back of his head. The little bitch had probably slipped out with the townspeople as they had been herded away.

There had been some snow as the runners had been sent to the homes of the soldiers on holiday leave to summon them back to duty. A glorified flurry, at best. But by the time his horse and those of the vanguard had been saddled and thundering along the cobblestones, it was coming down steadily. The original plan had been for them to ride ahead to scout out where Anna might have gone and who was with her – she wouldn’t have been able to bring down the Sergeant on her own – and try to bring her back. But Runeard knew the girl could ride. Multiple patrols would be the best bet to track her down quickly and without further incident.

Happily, fortune had smiled early on. A loyal group of his subjects had waved him down and swore they saw the princess riding north with a tall man clad in leathers. And on the back of a reindeer, of all things, like some Northuldra savage. A pair of scouts had detached and, despite the snow, quickly tracked down the direction in which they were headed. With the weather this wild, they had limited options. And as members of the cavalry troop straggled in, Runeard quickly dispatched them in pairs to flank the two fugitives, limiting their options further.

It might take the whole of the day. It might take two to three days, if this weather continued to torment them. But there would only be one outcome. And their foolish impetuousness had made it easier for him to publicly execute the traitor who had been stupid enough to saddle his granddaughter with a bastard. There were witnesses who had seen them ride off together. It would be simple enough to tell the people that she had been stolen away by a treasonous villain.

“Hans!” He barked. The prince struggled to pull his mount closer. “If we keep this pace, we might have them before nightfall!”

“We’ll freeze to death if we don’t turn back!”

“Warm ocean weather has spoiled you, boy! Do you want to be a king or not?” He grinned at the way Hans’ eyes flashed before he nodded curtly. “Good man. Then follow me!”

* * * * *

Anna clung to Sven’s fur. She could hear him panting at the effort of carrying them over the snowy plains. Colder than the weather was the sliver of fear that pierced her chest. Her flight with Kristoff reminded her far too much of all those years ago when Father had fled with her, trying to reach the forest where he hoped to reunite them with Mother and Elsa. She still had dreams of being run down by the cavalry troopers who had dragged her, screaming, from her father’s arms. If it happened again, her ability to persuade her grandfather was not likely to save her this time.

With each rapid setback, her heart sank. There had not been time to gather the supplies that Kristoff had prepared for their possible flight. They were spotted too quickly and the storm had been too harsh to flee to the trolls and the protection they could offer. And they would never make it through the woods with such heavy snow and Grandfather at their backs, his riders cutting off the route to the Valley of the Living Rock.

She had almost wept when Kristoff told her they hadn’t put enough distance between them and their pursuers to safely make it to his cabin. Instead, she gripped Sven tighter and concentrated on the heat of Kristoff’s body behind her as they continued north. She wasn’t alone. All hope was not lost. With some luck, they might lose Runeard and his men in the storm and be able to burrow into the snow with Sven for warmth. To get some rest, some sleep, and think of where to head next. Anna could hear the slight tremor of doubt in Kristoff’s voice, though he tried to sound confident. She had nodded her assent, a hand firmly on her stomach. This was it. They would escape or she would die trying to save their baby. If the choice was freezing to death making a run for freedom or returning to Arendelle to watch her husband executed and feel her child die within her, Anna knew that it wasn’t really a choice.

By the time Kristoff suggested they keep pushing north into the storm, the winds were changing. It was no longer whipping at their faces and freezing the tip of her nose. It was at their back, driving them on. Though Sven still had to run through snowdrifts, they were no longer chest deep. Despite the fact that the reindeer had been working hard for several hours, they seemed to be gaining speed. It was almost as though the weather was starting to favor them.

“They aren’t gaining on us.” Kristoff remarked sometime later. Anna could hear the shock in his voice. “You’d think with the wind . . .”

“Can we double back? Make it to the cabin?”

“No, but we might be able to stop and dig in. I’m not exactly sure where we are, but if we have just a little more distance from them we should be able to hide. They have to stop at some point too. See to their horses. Or they’ll freeze to death.”

They lapsed back into silence. There was only the moan of the wind. The crunch of the snow under Sven’s hoofbeat. The steady grunt of his pants as he carried them. Anna felt as though they were cut off from the world in a white cocoon. Under all of her desperation and fear, she could feel a bone-wearying exhaustion building that threatened to take over. She wondered how long they could go on. Kristoff seemed to sense her fatigue as she slumped against his chest.

“Don’t fall asleep yet,” he warned her. “We’re not – oh no.”

Anna looked up as Sven slowed down to a trot. Her eyes widened as she saw the Mist rising before them like something from a nightmare. 

“I don’t understand,” Kristoff breathed. “How did we get here? The storm . . .I didn’t think I lost my bearings that much.”

Sven came to a stop a few feet from the shimmering wall and she slid off his back., mindlessly pulling off the mittens she wore and removing her knit hat. The snow was falling as gently as feathers now and growing lighter by the second. The sun was just starting to break through the clouds above. Kristoff came to stand next to her as she blankly stared at swirling colors. He was breathing heavily.

“I don’t see them,” he said. “We can find one of the abandoned guard huts. They’re still here somewhere, aren’t they? We can stay there for the night and continue on at first light.”

Anna nodded in mute shock as Kristoff climbed back on to Sven. He turned and reached out his hand, offering to help her back up. Suddenly, all the fury and pain and fear that had been building inside her flooded to the surface. Grandfather’s hatred and how he had torn her family apart. The spirits cutting her and Father off from Mother and Elsa. It was all so, so stupid and pointless and spiteful and absolutely none of it was her fault. But her child would pay the price for such senseless stubbornness.

Anna let out a wordless scream, raised her hand and slammed it against the Mist in an act of futile rage. She gasped, the cold air biting in her lungs, as her hand stuck fast to where she had struck. There was a dull, toneless, primordial sound as the wall shimmered around her hand. A warm, airy sensation of lightness pulsed through her palm, winding its way up her arm and into her chest. For a brief instant, she felt as though she had stepped into a sauna. And then she was released. The suddenness of it made her stagger back. She nearly tripped, but Kristoff was there to catch her.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know!” She rubbed her hands together. They were still as warm as though she had held them over a fire. “Kristoff!” She pointed at the Mist before rubbing her eyes, certain she must be so tired that she was hallucinating. 

“It’s lifting.” His voice this with disbelief. Anna rubbed her eyes harder before jumping, startled, as Kristoff clapped his hand on her shoulder. “Look!”

She opened her eyes and let them adjust to the light. The Mist was little more than a haze now. And a rapidly dissipating one at that.

And there, on the other side, looking as stunned as she imagined herself to look, was Elsa.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DOBBY IS A FREE ELF! By which, I mean, thank you for everyone who has been following along. And especially to Fericita - without your support and encouragement I would have abandoned this long ago or killed Kristoff in a fit of petty rage over comments demanding updates in the middle of a (#$@*@#&@ pandemic.
> 
> After seven months, over 120k words, and a really weird shift in the world, I'm glad to be done with this story and world. I hope you enjoyed it.

“Elsa!” Anna half-sobbed, half-choked as she took a step forward, raising her hands to reach out for her sister. The snow had stopped falling although she could still hear the wind from somewhere behind her.

“Wait!” Kristoff gasped, grabbing her arm with one hand and pointing towards the sky with the other. Anna glanced up and laughed, tears starting to run down her cheeks. She shook her head and patted Kristoff’s hand as he gaped at the looming figures that cut against the sky.

“The Earth Giants.” She managed. “They’re fine.”

“They’re – what!?” Kristoff didn’t sound convinced, but there wasn’t time to reassure him.

“Anna!” Elsa screamed as she began to run towards her. Anna barely had enough time pull away from Kristoff before her sister wrapped her in a tight hug. “You’re here! You’re alive!”

“So are you! So are you!” They were both crying.

“Holy . . .” Anna looked over Elsa’s shoulder at the familiar voice. She could see a handful of stunned Northuldra gazing up at the sky. One young man stood apart from them, gaping at the sisters. He turned and shouted. “Their mother! Someone run and get her! Seita too! Bring them both!”

“Destin!” Anna laughed through her tears and hugged Elsa tighter.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Elsa said in a thick voice.

“I hate to interrupt, but Runeard and his men weren’t that far behind us.” Kristoff said uneasily. Anna sniffled and reluctantly pulled away from her sister. They beamed at one another.

“We saw you coming.” Elsa looped her arm around Anna’s shoulders and began leading her towards the wood line. Kristoff kept pace behind them. “I saw you coming. Ahtohallan showed me.”

“I don’t understand how it came down. I’ve touched it before.”

“So have I. So has Mother.” Elsa squeezed her. “I think it’s because we had to touch it at the same time. Like a bridge.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Anna laughed and wiped her eyes.

“Do the spirits ever make any sense?” Elsa laughed.

“You’ve grown up!” Destin clapped her on the shoulder as they reached the trees.

“I know! This is my husband, Kristoff.”

“I know, we watched your wedding!” Anna and Kristoff exchanged a look of confusion at Destin’s words. But as Elsa opened her mouth to explain, another voice rang through the woods.

“Oh my Spirits! Anna! Anna!”

“Mother!” Anna pulled free from Elsa and flung herself at her mother, tears starting anew. “Mother!”

“Anna, I missed you so much!”

“Mama, I missed you-“

“I’m so glad you’re safe!”

“Still not safe yet,” Kristoff mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “The king and his riders weren’t that far behind us.”

“No?” Destin frowned and looked at the snow field behind them. He turned to a young woman who was keeping a respectful distance. “Beat the drum. Let everyone know they’re going to be near here.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We’ve also got the Earth Giants helping. The army isn’t about to attack with them at our backs.”

Anna smiled as she listened to the pair, but reached out, groping, until she caught Elsa by the arm and pulled her into the hug with their mother.

“Grandma is going to be so happy to see you!”

“Is she alright?” 

“She’s fine. She’s healthy. She’s closer to the Guardian Stones with a few others.”

Anna reluctantly let her mother pull away. Iduna cupped Anna’s face in her hands with a tender smile and used her thumbs to wipe away her tears. Just as she had when Anna had been a little girl.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but if Kristoff is right, we should move you all further into the woods.” Destin shifted uneasily. “Make sure the soldiers can’t grab you up or shoot you.”

“I’ll shoot back.” Anna started at her mother’s leaden tone and realized that there was a crossbow slung at her side. It looked Arendellian.

“Runeard and Hans will be alone.” Elsa’s voice was just as heavy as she looked out over the plains. Though the snowflakes wafted gently nearby, there was a maelstrom not even half a mile away that stopped inexplicably. As though the Mist had moved and taken on the trappings of winter.

“His vanguard was with them,” Kristoff said as he pulled Anna close. “And the others weren’t far back-“

“They’ll be alone.” Elsa repeated, her eyes narrowed. The wind groaned in the distance. Anna looked at the storm and then back at her sister and smiled. “They’re not going to be able to hurt you.”

“We won’t let them.” Destin said as several other armed Northuldra arrived.

“Oh, hey, Princess Anna!”

“Princess Anna made it!” Anna blinked. Two or three familiar faces from the Cadet Corps appeared. She couldn’t recall their names, but she remembered them. She gave a weak wave. One grinned and waved back. “Destin, we asked the Earth Giants to move closer, but they’re not listening or don’t want to.”

“Uh.” He looked at Elsa. She gave a one shoulder shrug and looked back out across the snowy field.

“They’re close enough.” She nodded towards the storm. “Besides, look. Here come Grandfather and Hans.”

“That was fast.” Anna swallowed hard as she covered her abdomen with her hands and pressed against Kristoff.

“I put the wind to their backs.” Elsa smirked. “Like I said, they’ll be alone.”

“Elsa.” Mother warned. “Anna, I want you to stand back.”

“But-“

“She’s right, Anna.” Destin said. “He killed Chief Valde just at the edge of the woods.” Anna flinched and let Kristoff lead her away from the open field. Destin raised his voice to be heard. “Everybody fall back a hundred feet! Into the trees. Use cover, but make sure he knows you’re there.”

Anna positioned herself behind the twisted trunk of a juniper tree that bent at the perfect angle to protect her body while allowing her to see what was happening. Kristoff stood at her side, one of his large hands braced against a low branch, the other around Anna. Sven grunted as he stood behind her. Anna watched as Elsa stood a few feet away, not bothering to hide behind a tree, staring intently at the field as two gray figures struggled on horseback through the suddenly heavy snowfall. It had only taken Kristoff and her a minute or two on Sven to cover the same ground that Hans and Grandfather were now slowly crossing as they bent into the headwind that Elsa sent.

“What are you doing?” Anna called.

“Disorienting them!”

“Would you look at that?” Kristoff breathed. Anna nodded. It was clear that Elsa’s powers had only grown in the past few years. She didn’t even need to raise her hands anymore, the wind and snow just bent itself to her will, rising high to the sky before turning back in on itself to batter the men approaching them.

After several minutes, they finally broke through the maelstrom and into the calmness of the forest. Their panting horses staggered and reared at abrupt change in the weather. Anna scowled. Grandfather looked furious and ready to ride into hell itself as he sharply reigned the horse to a halt. His moustache was frosted in snow. Hans looked equally angry but was visibly shivering in his sleet-slicked coat. They slid off their horses which bolted the moment their riders dismounted, fleeing the storm for the safety of the deep woods. One let out a panicked whinny as it raced past Elsa. Hans looked startled at their flight, but Grandfather didn’t seem to even notice.

“You!” He boomed as he thrust a finger in Elsa’s direction. Elsa’s eyes narrowed and Anna watched in horror as Mother approached, crossbow held at the low ready. Grandfather let out a low growl as he caught sight of her. “And you!”

“Runeard.” Mother’s voice was colder than Elsa’s ice.

“Where is she?” He demanded. Anna froze. Kristoff gripped her tightly.

“That’s not your concern.”

“Not my concern? I have the whole of the Arendelle Army at my heels!” He bellowed.

“No,” Elsa said calmly. “More than half have turned back. They fear my storm more than they fear you. And they love Father more than they love you. You can’t lie to the spirits.”

His face twisted with rage. “I will not hesitate to burn this forest to the ground to get her back! Your spirits cannot stop that! We will put all of you to the torch! Now hand her over or-“

Anna jumped and let out a short shriek as a crossbow bolt bloomed in crimson through Grandfather’s throat. He staggered and made a gurgling sound as blood began to flow from his mouth. He stared in wide-eyed shock at Elsa who gasped. And at Mother, whose mouth was opened wide in amazement, her crossbow still pointed at the ground.

“No!” The sharp cry echoed across the trees. Anna gaped as she caught sight of her grandma, a few yards beyond Grandfather, crossbow still raised. Grandfather had just enough time to turn and catch sight of her before he collapsed to the ground, jerking a few times like a dying fish before going limp. His blood was remarkably bright against the snow. 

“You will not take any more of my family from me!” Grandma hissed at his prone form. Kristoff let out a soft curse. Hans swore and placed a hand on his sword.

“Stop!” Mother ordered, raising her crossbow.

He glared at her and shook his head in disbelief. But he took his hand from the hilt of his weapon. “You just killed your king!”

“The King of Arendelle.” Anna heard Yelena’s voice ring out from somewhere behind her. “Runeard was not our king! He was never our king! He was never King of the Northuldra!”

“Do you think that will matter?” Hans shot back. He sounded annoyed. And desperate. “Do you think that will stop the Arendelle army from destroying you? From burning the woods?” There was a long moment of silence. Anna saw Destin roll his eyes and open his mouth to respond, but Elsa waved a hand to silence him.

“That won’t happen,” she said firmly.

“It doesn’t have to happen.” Hans agreed. “Let me take Anna back. I never threatened the child. I don’t care about whose baby it is.” 

Anna opened her mouth to call him a liar, but Kristoff put his mouth against her ear and whispered, “Don’t let him see you.”

“Everyone in Arendelle is expecting us to be wed. Anna will be Queen and I will be the King. I will leave your people alone. I have no interest in annexing the forest. The soldiers know that Runeard was preparing the documents to ensure my reign. I can tell them not to attack. That his death was an accident. They’ll listen to me!”

“Listen to you?” Mother scoffed. “You will be King? Who are you? You’re no one. Agnarr is next in the line of succession. Agnarr is king!”

“Agnarr?” Hans raised an eyebrow. “Prince Agnarr?”

“Yes!”

“Prince Agnarr is dead. I killed him-“ 

“No!” Anna screamed. 

Mother’s bolt smacked him square in the forehead and he dropped to the ground like a stone. She dropped the crossbow, breathing heavily, shoulders heaving. She turned to Elsa.

“Is he- did he?”

“No.” Elsa pulled Mother into a hug. “Father is fine. He’s in the dungeon. He’s safe.” Anna felt a relief so powerful that it made her knees give way and she would have collapsed if Kristoff hadn’t caught her. If Elsa said Father was safe . . .

“The army will be here soon,” Destin said as he slowly approached the bodies. “And that one was right. There will be a lot of questions.”

“Aren’t you the Queen now, Iduna?” Yelena walked up and nudged Runeard’s corpse with her toe. “Can’t you smooth things over?”

“Don’t be so cavalier, Yelena.” Grandma warned. Anna walked numbly over the knot of people who were starting to gather in a ring. Kristoff kept his arm around her shoulders, but Elsa still took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

“I’m not being cavalier, Seita.” Yelena nodded at Mother. “She’s the Queen of Arendelle now, right? They have to listen to her.” She looked at Anna. “Or was Agnarr stripped of his powers?”

“I don’t know if the papers had been signed.” Anna swallowed hard. “I think they were waiting for the wedding.” She stared at Grandfather’s corpse. She wasn’t certain how she felt looking at it. Mother sighed.

“Elsa, how long do we have?”

“As long as we need.”

“Let’s pull the bolts.” Destin shrugged. “We pull the bolts from them.” They stared at him and he shrugged again. “It’ll be grisly, but if we do that, then we can ask the Earth Giants to drop a few boulders on them. We war gamed this, remember? We’re in the woods. They crossed the border. We can just say the Earth Giants thought they were invaders and hit them with some boulders. They’ll believe that.”

“Will they?” Yelena sounded uncertain. Destin heaved a sigh.

“Well, do you have a better idea?”

* * * * *

Agnarr sat with the back of his head resting against the stone wall. He could feel the damp slowly saturating his hair, but it didn’t matter. Although they had taken the time to strip his jacket away, it had only been to put the manacles on and gag him. One of the guards had even provided him with a thick blanket that he had wrapped around his shoulders. Once the adrenaline and desperate rage had worn off, the dungeon was damn cold and it felt as though ice had replaced the energy that had been flowing through his veins. He cracked his neck breathed into his cupped hands to warm them.

He spent the day before watching the sun trace a path across the floor until the shadows had swallowed up the light. No one came to light the torches in the scones. No one had come to give him dinner. That was when he was certain that Anna must have escaped. 

If she was still in Runeard’s clutches, there was no way the old man wouldn’t have come to gloat. He hoped that he helped give her the time she would need to evade capture. But despite the dark night, he was unable to fall asleep.

No one brought him breakfast when the sun rose.

Agnarr wondered if this was a good or bad sign. Perhaps his father meant to forget about him here. Or perhaps the castle guard had ridden out in search of Anna. It was impossible to tell. Still, his tongue had gone woolen and he was feeling rather lightheaded after going nearly a day without food or water. The sun was now high in the sky. The manacles had chafed the skin raw from his wrists and the lack of sleep helped nothing. He was in a half-stupor when the heavy sound of the key clanking in the lock drew his attention. Groaning, he felt his joints click and pop as he staggered to his feet.

The door opened and Iduna swept into the cell. His heart nearly stopped. She was wearing the very dress she had been in the day that she and Elsa had fled.

“Agnarr!” The relief in her voice melted him and he took an unsteady step towards her. A sharp pain welled in his chest and his eyes burned. If she was here, wearing the trappings of royalty, that must mean . . .

“One of you come and unlock these! This is your king!” She called over her shoulder, never breaking her stride. His chains rattled as he tried to embrace her and she stood on her toes to untie the knot of the cloth that had been used to gag him.

“Iduna!” He managed to choke as she threw her arms around him and held him fast. Unable to move his hands more than a few inches apart, Agnarr gripped the soft material of her dress tightly in his fists and buried his face in her hair.

“Your Majesty?” A young guard spoke hesitantly and held up a key. Iduna stepped back and pivoted to his side, her hand resting on his shoulder. Agnarr nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and held out his arms. The guard removed the manacles and stepped back, looking uncertain. “Um, if you-“

“Leave us,” Iduna said. “And leave the door unlocked this time.”

The guard bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Iduna turned back to him with an ecstatic grin. She laughed, tears welling in her eyes, and brought her hands up to touch his face, running her fingers along the stubble of his jaw. “You’re alive!”

“So are you!” He managed to croak. Agnarr caressed his wife’s cheek as he studied her face. There were more lines than he remembered, the barest touch of gray in her brown hair, but the same lively blue eyes and dazzling smile. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Neither can I.” She let out a half-laugh, half-sob and hugged him again. Pressing her face against his chest as he wrapped his arms around you. “I missed you so, so much, my love.”

“Not half as much as I missed you.” He kissed the top of her head. “How are you here? And in _that_ dress?”

“I saved it,” she murmured against him. “It reminded me of you. Anna thought it would be wise to wear it during our return. The cadets outgrew their uniforms years ago. Destin agreed it might help the officers if they remembered who I was as soon as they saw me. They were right. It worked.”

Agnarr huffed a laugh and kissed her again. “Mattias will be proud.” He stood there with his arms around her, eyes closed, taking in her warmth and the faint scent of pine that clung to her hair and clothing. “But, truly, how are you here?”

There was a moment of silence.

“Runeard is dead.”

“Good.”

“And Prince Hans is dead.”

“Even better.” He felt Iduna snort against him. “I mean it. It turned my stomach every time that snake was near Anna. It’s well worth any diplomatic headache as long as that little shit is dead.”

“Agnarr!” Iduna laughed and squeezed him again. He smiled and bent to kiss her.

“Where are the girls?”

* * * * *

“Where are Mother and Father?” Anna asked as she joined Elsa in the library. Her sister had conceded to wearing a modest cream blouse and dark blue skirt while staying in the castle. Honeymaren, on the other hand, had been having a wonderful time trying on a new style of dress every day. “I haven’t seen them since breakfast and I wanted to talk to them about tomorrow’s banquet.”

“I believe they’re off being ‘enthusiastically married’,” Elsa said with a small smile as she looked up from her book. Anna made a face and Elsa giggled. “General Mattias said they were making up for lost time.”

“Ugh, then it can wait. Honeymaren is coming, right?”

“Yes, she should arrive this evening. She’s helping Kaija bring the children down.”

Anna grinned. “Halima has been baking all day to get ready. She has a dozen cookies for each grandchild so far. And no intention of stopping. Colonel Mattias said he’s going to sleep at the castle before spending the night in a house with that many sugared-up children.”

“I think he’s hoping they’re so cute that she won’t kill him when he tells her he intends to stay in the North. Father said he’d be happy to have him serve as a military liaison in the forest.”

“Yes,” Anna said dryly. “Keeping those murderous Earth Giants under control. Pity about Grandfather and Hans.” She sighed and drummed her fingers against the table. “Father arranged to have his body sent back to the Southern Isles. What was left of it, anyway. Along with his condolences.”

Elsa shuddered. “It’s horrible, but I think Destin was right. Better everyone think they charged foolishly into the woods and were killed by the Earth Giants.”

“Honestly? I don’t know that it will matter. Hans wasn’t fond of his family and I don’t think they cared much for him.”

“Anna.” Elsa raised her eyebrow and cocked her head. “They might not have cared much for him, but I doubt they would have nothing to say about the Queen of Arendelle killing their son. Regardless of how justified a killing it was.”

“I know, I know.” She raised her hands. “Father said he’s sending them some of the documents that Grandfather was drawing up. It will strengthen the case that Hans was trying to steal the crown by manipulating an old man with a frail mind who was senile enough to try and charge into a magical forest that had just reappeared.” Anna smiled and played with her wedding ring. “It’s a good thing I’m already a married woman or I’d never find a husband with how we’ll look after this.”

Elsa smiled. “Did Grandfather really worry that people would think ‘Dark Magic’ ran through our bloodline?”

“I mean, people know that magic does.” Anna shrugged. “And they’re not wrong. No one is going to mess with Arendelle with you around!”

“Anna,” Elsa spoke gently. “You know I’m going home once all the festivities are done and Mother’s and Father’s coronation is over, don’t you?”

“Don’t remind me. But that’s three weeks away! And besides, with Nokk, it takes you hardly any time to get here. So you can come and visit whenever you want to. And let’s be honest, Arendelle has way better chocolate than the forest, you I know you’ll want to. And then once the baby is born, you can teach me to ride Nokk and I can come visit you!”

“No!” Elsa laughed. “My answer is the same as when you were nine. I’m not teaching you to ride Nokk. But I will be here anytime you want me to be.”

* * * * *

“I thought this day would come sooner.” Iduna whispered as she closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of his heart against her ear. Agnarr chuckled and pulled the heavy blankets around them, tucking the edges under her back. His bare skin against hers had the same effect as huddling near a campfire, warm and comforting, but the winter wind off the harbor was bone chilling. She could hear it whistling against the windows. Yawning, she wondered if it would be inappropriate to ask Elsa to calm it the following night.

“I didn’t think it would ever come.” Agnarr replied, taking one of her hands in his and wrapping his other arm around her back. She smiled as his fingers circled a knot beneath her shoulder blade. Her craving for his touch had not abated during their separation. And now that she could indulge in it, she would enjoy every moment she had missed. “He made it very clear that he wanted me removed from the line of succession as soon as Anna was of age and established.”

“She would have stepped aside-“

“Hans never would have allowed it. I think he must have been the spitting image of my father in his youth.” Agnarr sighed. “They got on so well.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What happened isn’t your fault.”

“Still.” She kissed the back of his hand. “I wish things had happened differently.”

“I wish you had poisoned the bastard before he found you out. Or is that what you meant?”

“What I _meant_ , Agnarr, is that I’ve missed us and missed this and missed you terribly.” She raised her head and stuck her tongue out at him. He grinned. She returned the smile and laid her head back down. “And that the girls weren’t apart so many years.”

“Well, the girls will have to find their own ways,” he said with a wistful tone. “But I respect Elsa’s decision to return to the North. She can feel the eyes of Arendelle on her with all the lies my father told.”

“Honeymaren would never agree to stay here either.”

“No, I can’t imagine she would. And Anna and Kristoff will be busy with their baby here. But with the Mist down, they can send letters. And Nokk was always a quick ride.” Agnarr shifted his weight so that she tilted her chin towards him. He ran his thumb along her jawline. “And as for you and I, well, I won’t rule without my queen. So you’ll just have to play Iduna the Adoring once more.”

“Now, there’s a name I haven’t heard in years.” She giggled.

“Not since we were newlyweds. But doesn’t this remind you a little of those days?”

“Hm, I don’t know. Let me grab a knife and maybe that will refresh my memory.”

They both laughed and then settled into a comfortable silence, listening to the wind outside and the sounds of dying embers popping in the fireplace.

“You could always call me the ‘Royal Bedwarmer’ again.” He suggested. She squeezed his shoulder.

“You do fulfill that duty nicely.” She yawned once more, a pleasant drowsiness beginning to overtake her. “I hope living apart again won’t be too hard on the girls. Elsa missed Anna terribly.”

“Anna missed you both. It was hard, watching her try to hide it. But they can write. And they can visit.” He rubbed her back reassuringly. “And in due time, not too soon I hope, they’ll both rule Arendelle and the North in their own right. And maybe that’s how it should be. An alliance. An egalitarian alliance. Like we might have had if not for my father.”

“Anna ruling Arendelle and Elsa leading the Northuldra.” Iduna murmured sleepily. “I think you’re right. I think when they’re older, that would be best for everyone. I think it will make people happy.”

“I think so too.” She heard him say before she drifted off to sleep. “The future is bright and it’s theirs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> You didn't really think I'd kill them all, did you?


End file.
